By Amy White 
The Texas Catholic

IRVING — The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas celebrated its annual Spark of Hope Breakfast on April 19 at the Omni Las Colinas Hotel in Irving. This year’s breakfast boasted 200 participants, its largest number of attendees so far, and raised more than $80,000 in support of the charitable works of the society.

During the event, the society recognized this year’s Spark of Hope Award winners. Initiated in 2022, the Spark of Hope Awards honor select Vincentians for their meaningful contributions to SVdP programs.

Kristen Ringdahl received the Spark of Knowledge Award for her support of the StudyTime program. StudyTime provides after school homework assistance to students grades K-8 and offers students scholarships to local private high schools. Ringdahl has served as a volunteer tutor and mentor in the program since 2016.

Maria Torres received the Spark of Giving Award, which recognizes her contributions to the St. Vincent Center in Lancaster. The center offers food, clothing, rent assistance, and medical care to the community, in addition to other services. Torres serves as volunteer coordinator at the center, assisting with the center’s charitable programs.

Bruce Toplek received the Spark of Assistance Award for his efforts in the Mini Loan Program. Established in 2015, the program provides manageable means for families to pay off debt and rebuild personal credit. Toplek, who joined the society’s Holy Trinity Conference in 2004, has served in the Mini Loan Program for many years. For four years, he also served on the SVdP North Texas Council Board of Governors.

Through its programs—supported by the dedicated service of Vincentians like those honored—the society served more than 77,000 neighbors in need last year, providing more than $34 million in total assistance, goods, and services to the community.

“The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul has been serving the Diocese of Dallas now for almost 70 years,” said Luis Gonzalez, CEO of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas, “and during that time, we continue to grow and continue to be blessed with people we get to serve, people we get to help, the stories that we get a chance and an opportunity to enter into.”

 A lifetime of service 
This year, for the first time, the society instituted a Lifetime of Vincentian Service Award. The award recognizes a “lifetime of intention, friendship, a lifetime of Vincentian service,” Gonzalez explained. Darwin and Debbie Hutchison were this year’s recipients of the award.

The Hutchisons, both members of the St. Pius X Conference, have served within the society for more than 40 years. In 1983, Darwin and Debbie helped establish the St. Pius X Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Darwin served as the conference’s first president, later serving as vice president then president of the Council of Dallas and eventually as the national vice president for the South Central Region of the society.

“I was amazed listening to them talking about all the different people, all the different neighbors that they had a chance to meet,” Gonzalez said of the couple.

Debbie and Darwin expressed surprise and gratitude following the recognition of their decades of service.

“It has been our privilege to be in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul,” Debbie said. “It really doesn’t seem like 40-something years, because of the way that we work with the neighbors and other people in the conference; we’re all there for our own sanctification and to see the face of Jesus in our neighbors.”

“That’s what makes us do what we do,” Darwin added. “At St. Vincent de Paul, we’re all there for the love of God.”