The St. Vincent DePaul Society strives to be more than just an organization where a group of people come together to do service but instead strives to be a place where people can come together to be a community not only to serve others but also to get to know one another and build relationships with others that share their values and beliefs.  We do this in several different ways; one of which is our social events.  In the past year, The St. Vincent DePaul Society has organized and held several different social events.  Some of these were organized to welcome new members and encourage them to give “The Society” a chance and see if they felt it was a good fit for them.  Below you can see a listing of some of “The Society’s” past social events.  As we plan more events these will also be listed below; please feel free to email amurray4@depaul.edu if you wish to attend any of our upcoming events. We look forward to seeing many new faces.  

Upcoming Events

Valentine’s Day Craft Making and Dinner at Enoteca Piattini:
Date:
Time: TBD
Location: Student Center Room ___

Also during winter quarter the St. Vincent DePaul Society also plans to have a Valentine’s Day social event.  We plan to get together in the Lincoln Park Student Center and make Valentines for the elderly people that we visit at both the LaBoure House and at St. Paul’s.  Afterwards we will plan go out to dinner at Enoteca Piattini which is located at Webster and Bissel (about a block from St. Vincent de Paul’s Church.  It will be a great opportunity to get to know all of the members of “The Society” and we urge anyone who is interested to stop by.  Stay posted for updated information

Whirleyball on Fullerton!
Date: February 24th
Time: 1:30pm-4pm
Location: Meet at Bedlen/Racine Hall

One of our upcoming events for winter quarter is a trip to the Whirleyball arena on Fullerton just before the on ramp to the expressway.  This event will be free of charge to all St. Vincent DePaul Society members.  This event was graciously sponsored by the office of Residential Education. The exact date, time, and meeting location will be released sometime in the next week.  Please contact Eric Vicens at evicens@depaul.edu or Ashley Murray at amurray4@depaul.edu with any questions. 

Ice Skating at Millenium Park
Possible Event

Samah Lounge (Hookah Lounge)
Possible Event

Past Events

Dinners at Flattops:
Dinner at Flattop Grill was the first social event that “The Society” engaged in last year. We generally go one night during the week as a release from all of the pressures that we often find ourselves under due to classes, work, and all of the other many responsibilities that we take on.  Flattops is a “create your own stir-fry restaurant” located just a few blocks from the Sedgwick stop off of the brown line.  Dinner at Flattops has become a society favorite as it is a reasonable amount of time to give up on a week night (as we all must eat) and it is also very affordable with their all you can eat student price. 

Ice Skating at Millennium Park:
We have also gone ice skating at Millennium Park as a group several times.  This is very fun experience as we often find ourselves wandering around Millennium Park to take pictures by ‘The Bean’ and looking at the pictures that are always changing at ‘The Crown Fountain’.  Ice skating is another of the very fun activities that is also extremely affordable ($7.00 for skates) or free if you have your own skates! 

Free Chipotle Night:
Early in the fall quarter of this year we had a free Chipotle Night to welcome any new and interested members and to welcome back all of our returning members.  It was a great success as we had many new and interested volunteers and almost all of our volunteers from last year returned.  We all gathered by the statue of Father Egan outside of the Lincoln Park Student Center and walked to Chipotle where we all ate for free and had a great deal of fun meeting a getting to know new people. 

Bocci’s Pizza and Improv Olympics:
One of the social events that members of the “The Society” have previously enjoyed as a weekend event is our trips to Wrigleyville to go to Bocci’s Pizza for dinner and then to attend a late night comedy show.  This is fun because not only are the improv comedy show hilarious but the gigantic slices of pizza at Bocci’s are both inexpensive and delicious.  These nights have always turned out to be a success for the society and are a great way to spend a weekend night. 

Urban Plunge Retreat
The Urban Plunge retreat took place Fall 2007 and was reserved for Society members. Below is a personal statement from Ben Cox, 2010.

"First of all I have to say that this weekend was surprising, When I went to the Urban Plunge with the Saint Vincent DePaul Society I knew that I was going to be working somewhere in Chicago while reflecting on the larger issues of that community. I did not know however that I was going to be working with kids. This was a great surprise. When I was told that I was going to be spending time with kids, I was real glad that I could goof around and have fun and not worry about the school issues that plague every college student. In the morning we went to help out with a Halloween Party at a local hospital, where I handed out Halloween Stickers and Halloween tattoos. After this, we went back and rested because our day was not over yet. In the afternoon we went to a youth center, currently under construction. They had not used their gym for almost a whole year. The kid’s faces when they were able to come in a play were amazing. The joy that they showed left me speechless. It was really uplifting. My only hope is that they don’t have to wait another year for this center to be open. While there I played basketball with some of the kids and some of my friends from DePaul that went on this retreat as well. The game was laid back and I still don’t know who won, but I have to say that it was the finest games of basketball that I have ever played. This weekend was very soothing and relaxing as we reflected on our work at the sites and the issues that thesesites deal with. It was an incredible weekend. Even though my physical pains will require me a few nights of solid rest I know that this experience well last until the day I feel nothing at all. I look forward to anotherretreat like one." - Ben Cox

VIP Retreat
The VIP retreat was held in Spring of 2007. It was an even split between new members and interested members. Below is a recap and personal reflection by Rachelle Snyder, 2010.

"The St. Vincent de Paul Society V.I.P. (Vincentians Impacting Poverty) retreat, was a great experience to meet the members of SVPDS and experience the group as a whole. There are two service sites (hopefully three soon) and I am unable to spend time with the members who don't attend St. Paul’s. I was not a member of SVPDS when I attended the retreat but had such a great experience and thought everyone was so nice that I started to go to weekly service andhave since gotten involved.
The retreat was held at a small college campus on Lake Geneva where they had cabins, trails, and a pier. It was a chance to get away from the normal college routine of classes, work, and papers. It was also an opportunity to think about things that we do not normally encounter in our day-to-day life. This particular retreat focused on the different types of poverty. In many ways, it opened my eyes to my own struggles and the struggles of others. Throughout the weekend we participated in team building events, shared personal experiences, and just hung out by the water and bon fire. A great end to my freshmen year of college and I can only hope for the same to come this year." - Rachelle Snyder