Dear Vincentian Community and Family,

The question, “How are you doing?” is often asked to break the ice, to appear courteous, but mostly to express genuine concern for those in our presence. Next to “You’re on mute,” perhaps no other expression has been said more in these last 20 months. 

It is our sincere hope that you, like us at Vincentian, have found strength of spirit through this time. We’ve all been fundamentally impacted by a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Yet we’ve seen, over and over again, that in times when uncertainly and ambiguity reigns, heroes emerge. 

Today is your opportunity to emerge heroically in support of a noble cause. 

For nearly 100 years, Vincentian has nurtured and sustained a ministry of caring for others. It’s a service that must endure in any circumstance. In fact, it is in challenging times that caring for others must rise to new levels of excellence. Vincentian’s calling – people caring for people – is the most vivid expression of human compassion, dignity, and decency. 

When others waned, Vincentian – with your help – doubled down. We created the first COVID-19 Isolation Unit in our region and opened our doors to our community members in need. We continued to reinvest in our campuses – the very place our residents call home – with targeted safety and experience-focused initiatives. And we continued to reinvest in our staff, including establishing the Vincentian Learning and Engagement Institute as a center of training excellence. 

Almost immediately after the pandemic began, our revenues reduced by $1 million per month as care needs were disrupted, and yet expenses exceeding $5 million emerged. Yes, the federal government provided essential relief to Vincentian; and we are grateful. However, the relief addressed less than 30% of the financial impact we continue to endure to this very day. 

It has not been easy; and, in fact, it will never be easy. The need for compassionate care arrives on its own terms, not ours. At Vincentian, caring for others is our calling. Our people work to deliver an exceptional experience to anyone who seeks Vincentian as a place for care and as a place for shelter. But we cannot do it alone. 

On behalf of those we serve, from the tiniest infants to our greatest grandparents, and on behalf of our courageous caregivers, who choose to do this work not for personal wealth but for purposes of nobility and human decency, I am deeply and heartfully appealing for your help. 

Please support us with a donation in an amount that is meaningful to you, to help us reinvigorate our purpose, to care for others compassionately, to honor the dignity of those we serve and those who serve, and to demonstrate grace in action to those who call Vincentian their home. 

I invite you to become a hero to us today, and in so doing, ensure that Vincentian may remain an enduring cornerstone to those in need within our Pittsburgh community. In the spirit of our founding Sisters, may God bless you and yours during this joyous season. 

Yours in Service,

Dean Owrey
President & CEO