Father Rod Guillermo was the spiritual founder of the St. Vincent de Paul ministry at St. Matthias Church during the late 1980s when he organized a group of parishioners to support the less fortunate in the Magnolia area. Tom Owen was the first leader while Anne Marie Parodowski volunteered to be Secretary/Treasurer. Additional leadership included Trudy Ferrugia Cecelia Dolen and Mary Jane Tamborello. The original food pantry was held in a portable building that was also used for classrooms and storage. Phone calls and interviews of those seeking assistance were held in that building. Home visits were important in determining the needs of those seeking assistance. Pantry volunteers picked up the food provided by the Houston Food Bank at the old Tomball Church of Christ parking lot and distributed either at the pantry building or delivered to homes of those seeking assistance.

Ed Banks took over as president after the initial organization. In November of 1988 the group was officially aggregated (recognized by SVdP International organization). Ed Banks was followed by Joe and Susie McDowell. A partnership with a couple in Roans Prairie was formed under the direction of the McDowells. They had a clothing and food ministry and a truck, and they offered to pick up our food at the same time they made their pick up. St. Matthias volunteers also helped with some of the activities in Roans Prairie. Joe and Susie McDowell started the Christmas Giving Tree program about 1990. Due to the many generous parishioners, the giving tree was a huge success. The Giving Tree remains an integral annual activity for SVdP and is coordinated by our Debbie Stackowiak.

Following Joe and Susie McDowell, Doreen Blanchard took over the pantry leadership, and she initiated several procedures that are still in use today. She streamlined the interview process and started collaborating with the Magnolia Society of Samaritans.

Fran Dunn followed Doreen Blanchard as president. In addition to picking up the food at the Tomball Church of Christ, Fran would go into Houston to pick up fresh produce at Christmas.

Debbie Stackowiak followed Fran Dunn as president. Under Debbie’s leadership, the pantry building was enlarged with a generous gift of $5000 from the Galveston-Houston St. Vincent de Paul Society. In partnership with the Men’s Club, this area was enlarged to include a room with shelving and a room with a walk-in refrigerator donated by McDonald’s. The Eagle Scouts helped to improve pantry operation by putting in the shelves and adding the front porch and covering. Debbie’s son, Jeremy, helped build the front addition while Shawn Springer was instrumental in installing the shelving units. The Men’s Club currently occupies this building. Growth continued as did the number of pantry volunteers.

Jerry Schulte assumed presidency after Debbie Stachowiak. Jerry was instrumental in procuring a box truck that was used to pick up food from the Houston food bank as well as picking up donated food and other related items. At this point, our food supplier changed from the Houston food bank to the Montgomery County food bank in Conroe. During hurricane Katrina normal pantry operations were temporarily suspended to aid hurricane victims. The pantry became a distribution center for relief supplies and clothes. Over 500 families were served during this period.

After Jerry Schulte, Don Beyer took over the presidency in 2008. Don organized teams to do more home visits as he felt this was a priority in this ministry. The core of Vincentian activity is the home visit where two members of the Society go to the home of an individual or family needing assistance. Vincentians assess their needs, provide referrals and assistance in addition to spiritual support.

Sharon Beyer was and still is instrumental in keeping the pantry supplied with needed items for distribution including can goods, cereals, bread, meats, milk, hygiene products, baby products, and some limited household items. Starting about 2008, Sharon drove the truck on Thursday to pick up the week’s supplies from the Montgomery food bank. She stopped along the way to shop at Walmart and/or various grocery stores to supplement the items we could not procure from the food bank. In 2019, it was decided to sell the truck, as it needed expensive repairs, and have the Montgomery food bank deliver the food on Thursday.

Steve Dinnell took over the presidency after Don Beyer. During Steve’s tenure as president, plans for the new St. Matthias campus including a new pantry building took shape. Steve was instrumental in planning and finalizing the new SVdP building which consolidated all our inventory to one building with expanded storage, interview rooms and a conference room. This building was possible due to the deep support for SVdP and generosity of the St. Matthias parishioners. At the start of the pandemic, Mike Deo recommended a process change whereby our friends remained in their cars, and we loaded the food supplies to their trunk. This change reduced the possibility of Covid transmission but also greatly reduced the wait time for our friends and improved overall efficiency.

In October 2020, Don Hayes assumed the presidency at the height of the pandemic. We continued normal food distribution thru the pandemic, never missing a Friday. We also continued providing financial support while limiting close contact with the friend in need. Father Chris blessed the new SVdP building, and we started food distribution and interviews on April 22, 2022.

As the St. Matthias SVdP’s presence has grown and evolved, so have the needs of our friends. We are currently serving about 125 families per week for food and/ or financial assistance. Generous parish support has provided financial help in paying for utilities, rent, and food but in many cases the financial need and/ or type of assistance is beyond our capabilities. Our ministry has established critical partnerships with other local agencies, churches and businesses. Some of the key relationships include Monica Grandinetti , at His Helpers, Steve Hoffart, at Magnolia Pharmacy, Ann Marie Parodowsky, at Tri County Coalition, the Society of Samaritans and First Baptist Church of Magnolia. The partnerships allow us to coordinate and share financial help when utility bills and rent are beyond our means and expand our scope to include medical needs, dental needs and essential clothing and household items.

As of 2023, there are twenty one active volunteers and five associate members in the SVdP ministry.