Walk/run to help St. Vincent de Paul group's work

By Christina Galeone
CFP Correspondent

In Paris, in the first half of the 17th century, St. Vincent de Paul dedicated himself to helping the poor and the suffering, whom he recognized as his brothers and sisters in Christ. He often walked the streets to find them.
Four centuries later, on a weekend near Sept. 27, the saint’s feast day, the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul takes to the streets to hold its nationwide annual Friends of the Poor Walk/Run. The fundraiser supports the society’s mission to continue the charitable works of love that its patron began.
Locally, on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 9:30 a.m. (with registration starting at 9), the Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference at St. Mary Church in Uxbridge will hold its 3.5-mile Friends of the Poor Walk/Run to benefit the work it does to help people in need. The walk will begin and end at the church, located at 77 Mendon St. After reaching out to Our Lady of the Valley Regional School, local Scouts and the community, the conference members are hoping for an event that will return to the normalcy of its successful pre-pandemic walks. They’re also happy to announce a change that will allow more people to participate.
Sheryl Ethier, an associate member of the conference and co-chair of this year’s event, is elated that an update to the walk will welcome more participants.
“We have planned for a shorter walk for those who want to join us and who are unable to do the 3.5-mile town loop,” she said of the one-block alternate route. “This is a family event for people of all ages.”
The walk is also being supported by many sponsors. At the time this article was written, those sponsors included businesses with several locations such as Savers Bank, UniBank, Koopman Lumber and Fyzical Therapy & Balance. They also included local businesses: J.F. Cove Insurance; Bert’s Breakfast & Lunch; Nolin’s Asphalt & Sealcoat; D.J. Salmon Lawn & Landscaping; Nydam Oil, Uxbridge Auto; Institute for Education & Professional Development; Attorney Mark Wickstrom and Wickstrom Morse LLP. Other sponsors include the Uxbridge Lions Club and the daughters of Barbara Glidden, who created a sponsorship in memory of their mom.
The conference members hope to raise $6,000. But Mrs. Ethier said that the members – who pray for and provide vital financial resources, such as help with rent, utilities and car repairs to local people in need and food for an area food pantry – have additional goals as well.
“Our goals for the 2022 walk are to increase the number of participants who walk and/or donate to our cause, and that our donations will meet the increasing needs of people in our community,” she explained. “More than ever, our neighbors are struggling with meeting basic needs. We hope to have a successful fundraiser to meet the growing needs.”
The other co-chair, Donna Featherstone, who’s also an associate member of the conference, shares that concern. And she’s equally thrilled that the walk can welcome more people this year.
“We were excited to be able to walk in 2021 since we canceled the walk in 2020 during the pandemic,” she said, later adding that 2020 federal aid helped meet many of the needs that they normally help people with. Regarding the 2021 walk she noted, “It was kind of almost like rebuilding it again.”   
She said that in hopes of returning to pre-pandemic levels of participation in the walk, they’ve publicized the event more throughout the area. And Father Nicholas Desimone, St. Mary’s pastor, will mention it at Mass.
“The community at St. Mary’s is awesome; they really support this,” Mrs. Featherstone shared. “We’re really blessed.”    
Mrs. Featherstone, whose husband, Dennis Featherstone, is the conference’s outgoing president, loves the companionship the walk offers.
“I just like talking to people on the walk,” she reflected. “You see a joy in people; they enjoy doing this. You know you’re helping people.”  
Like Mrs. Featherstone, Mrs. Ethier is looking forward to the event. And both hope that a more youth will return with families to the walk.
“I am looking forward to the spirit of community as we do God’s work in helping and loving our neighbor,” Mrs. Ethier shared.

To donate or register for the walk in advance, please visit fopwalk.org or go directly to the Uxbridge page at https://bit.ly/3cTzMyA.https://bit.ly/3cTzMyA