Friends of the Poor Walk: National Name, Parish-Sized Walk

At St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Austin, the pitch for the parish walk is one line long: neighbors "need help paying the rent or the light bill." The walk belongs to a national program, but the money pays bills inside the parish boundaries.

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A national walk with local treasuries

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul's Friends of the Poor Walk gives "local Vincentian Conferences and Councils" an "opportunity to raise funds," and the Society says "over $3.4 million is raised each year."1 A 2017 Vincentian Family report noted that "all proceeds and donations from the event stay in the area where they are raised."2 It also traced the walk's growth. "In 2008, the first year for the walk, participants raised $837,688." By 2016 "more than 28,000 people participated … at 240 locations" and "more than $3.1 million was raised."

For a parish conference, that arrangement is the best of both worlds: a recognizable name and a shared cause, without asking volunteers to raise money that leaves town.

Rent, utilities, a medical bill

St. Albert's St. Vincent de Paul conference "serves the needy in our parish boundaries," offering "financial aid such as rent, utilities, a medical bill, as well as compassion and prayer." The parish names two main sources of funding: "the Black Bag collection held monthly, along with our annual Friends of the Poor Walk."3

The parish's only published walk figure was reported in January 2021. The Diocese of Austin wrote that the conference "raised $10,000 through participation in the Friends of the Poor Walk," and that a utility assistance grant freed money for "rent, medical bills, furniture, glasses and prescriptions."4

A one-mile morning with no fee

The parish's eighth walk is set for Saturday, September 26, 2026, the day before the feast of St. Vincent de Paul. It's a "one-mile walk," and walkers can "repeat the course to walk additional miles." Parishioners who can't come can walk virtually "at any time and in any place of your choice." And "this year, there is no registration fee"; t-shirts are sold separately, and businesses can sponsor at $100, $250, $500 or $1,000.5

Dropping the fee lets anyone in the parish take part regardless of budget, and puts the weight on sponsors and donations instead. The schedule does the rest: check-in at 8 a.m. and the walk at 8:30, then breakfast and fellowship, with a talk on the Society's work at 9:15 and door prizes at 9:30. Walkers hear what their neighbors' needs look like while the walk is still fresh, over breakfast with the people who'll deliver the help.

For a parish planning its own walk, the church walk-a-thon guide covers pastoral involvement and congregation networks, and the virtual walk-a-thon guide covers the walk-anywhere option. For a Capuchin ministry's first walk, held on a high school track in 2024, read Capuchin Heart & Sole.

Sources

  1. Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA, Friends of the Poor Walk (accessed October 19, 2026).
  2. Famvin (Vincentian Family news), article on the walk's first decade (September 22, 2017; accessed October 19, 2026).
  3. St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, St. Vincent de Paul (accessed October 19, 2026).
  4. Diocese of Austin, Vincentians work together to serve their neighbors in need (January 4, 2021; accessed October 19, 2026).
  5. St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, Friends of the Poor Walk (accessed October 19, 2026).