St. Vincent de Paul - St Matthew Conference

Hillsboro/Washington County
Request: $20,000

The St. Vincent de Paul St. Matthew Conference is seeking funding to purchase and install a backup generator for the Hertel Center in Hillsboro, Oregon. The Hertel Center serves as a critical community resource, providing food assistance, rent and utility assistance, personal care items, and other essential services to individuals and families experiencing hardship throughout Washington County.

The generator will ensure that pantry operations can continue during power outages caused by severe weather, natural disasters, or other emergencies. In addition to protecting food inventory for thousands of vulnerable households, a backup generator will allow the Hertel Center to remain operational during emergencies, enabling volunteers to continue distributing food, coordinating assistance programs, and serving as a reliable point of support for community members in need. This project will strengthen the organization's disaster preparedness and resilience while helping ensure uninterrupted access to essential services for the families who depend on them.

St Vincent de Paul is in the early stages of fundraising for this project and has developed a preliminary project budget of approximately $35,000. To fund the project, they plan to pursue a combination of grant funding, support from parish and conference donors, community contributions, and other charitable funding opportunities.