Long time member and St. Vincent de Paul Top Hat Hall of Fame Recipient Rosie Martina just turned 100! Rosie’s fountain of youth is based on his commitment to his faith and his continued volunteer work to help the poor through St. Vincent de Paul.
In 1982 Rosie was among volunteers who founded the first St. Vincent de Paul Dining Room which originally opened in a shotgun house on South 21st Street, and only served 20 to 50 people a day. Today the Dining Room is in its third location at 222 St. Vincent de Paul Place and serves over 200 to 500 meals a day at lunchtime and an equal amount of brown bag suppers. Last year over 255,000 meals were served.
Rosie has many fond memories of the early days of the St. Vincent de Paul Dining Room. He and his beloved wife, Laura, worked side by side serving the poor and homeless at the Dining Room for many years.
Rosie has been active in his local St. Jude St. Vincent de Paul Conference Ministry. St. Jude St. Vincent de Paul does a great job of serving the poor. In the early days of that effort, Rosie and Laura began with a food pantry in their garage. Rosie’s daughter Patricia recalls, “We gave up our garage.” Rosie and Laura’s children have always supported their countless hours of volunteerism and even help Rosie make food pick-ups.
Yes, even at 100 Rosie continues to make food pick-ups and coordinates a small army of volunteers (named Rosie’s Army) who also pick up donated food from local supermarkets, bakeries, and restaurants. St. Vincent de Paul recognizes and thanks Rosie for his many decades of volunteer leadership and services. Happy Birthday, Rosie!