By Michele Jurich
Staff writer

A new truck is in the future for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Contra Costa County, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation.

How to help Donations can be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Truck Fund by dialing (925) 439-5060 or at www.svdp-cc.org. RotaCare Pittsburg Free Medical Clinic at St. Vincent de Paul • 2210 Gladstone Drive, Pittsburg Medical care for uninsured adults: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Wednesday. For an appointment dial (925) 439-2009 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesdays.

The Walnut Creek foundation awarded the funds in the form of a challenge grant to the nonprofit, which is seeking to raise an additional $30,123 needed to buy the truck.

“The funds will be utilized to purchase a new truck in order to update the efficiency and operation of the St. Vincent de Paul truck fleet, which supports the pick-up, delivery and transportation of all goods sold or given to the needy from the two St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores,” Ron Weston, executive director of SVdP, said in a news release.

The truck will also be used to distribute the 14,000 warm coats each winter in the “One Warm Coat Program,” as well as food and meals to the needy.

The Lesher Foundation was established in 1989 with a mission to enhance the quality of life for residents of Contra Costa County.

“The Lesher Foundation and St. Vincent de Paul first collaborated on the new Loaves & Fishes soup kitchen in Pittsburg,” said Lesher Foundation Executive Director Kathleen Odne. “When they approached us about providing a grant for an urgently needed new delivery truck, the foundation recognized that this grant would be used to support essential parts of St. Vincent de Paul’s community outreach work.”

The grant is another piece of good news for the Contra Costa SVdP, which will celebrate the opening of the RotaCare Pittsburg Free Medical Clinic from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on March 16. Volunteer physicians, pharmacists, nurses, translators and non-medical volunteers staff the clinic, which offers medical care to uninsured adults. This clinic opened Feb. 9, and will be open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Wednesday. Clinic sponsors include the Rotary Clubs of Alamo and Pittsburg, and eight additional Rotary Clubs are co-sponsors. For a clinic appointment, dial (925) 439-2009 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesdays. Walk-in patients are seen as the schedule allows.

Health-care services, including medical exams, diagnostic and laboratory testing, are offered at no cost.

“We are recruiting medical professionals,” said Barbara Hunt, development director for St. Vincent de Paul Contra Costa County. “We have pharmacists, nurses and translators,” she said. The volunteer medical directors are recruiting physicians to volunteer their services.

The clinic is based at the St. Vincent de Paul Family Resource Center, at 2210 Gladstone Drive, Pittsburg.

Last July, in partnership with Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa County, the St. Vincent de Paul Family Resource Center in Pittsburg opened a dining room, which serves about 150 lunches a day, Monday through Friday. Clients arrive by motorized wheelchair, bus and bike, Hunt said. During the summer and on school holidays, families with children are guests in the dining room.

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