Board of Directors
VCO Mission & Values -
Vincent’s Community Outreach (VCO) is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving and assisting low-income and homeless individuals in the inner city of St. Louis, MO. Due to the ever-growing demand in the city of St. Louis,
Vincent’s Community Outreach (VCO) was launched in 2012 to support individuals of all faiths and backgrounds to the mission of providing community outreach services and programs.
The VCO provides a formal structure to support the generosity and commitment to the mission of providing hospitality services and programs tailored to assist individuals from low-income and homeless backgrounds.
Vincent’s Community Outreach operates as a 501 c3 non-profit organization.
The VCO relies on the generous donations, gifts in kind, and grants to offer help services in
St. Louis, MO. Although a relatively young non-profit organization, its mission and values are deeply rooted and embedded derived from “social ministries funding” and operations dating back 180 years. Through the “social ministries funding” and various Outreach programs, the people of St Vincent DePaul Church and surrounding areas, provided the needed support and service to both Individuals and Families struggling with poverty and homelessness.
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Members of the Board
Tom Applewhite
President of Board of Directors​
Tom has served on the Vincent's Community Outreach Board since 2021 and is the current Board President. He has a Juris Doctorate from Saint Louis University and is a Partner at Donner Applewhite, Attorneys at Law, where he has worked since 2012. Tom has served on the Board of Helping Hand Me Downs to provide services to women and children in need and volunteers with St. Louis Survivors Legal Support to assist victims of domestic violence in obtaining orders of protection. Tom is an active parishioner at Seven Holy Founders in Affton, Missouri, along with his wife, Rachel, and his three children, Hadessa, Tommy and Ruthie.
Bill Krenn
Treasurer​
Bill is the retired president of WINCO Window Company a commercial window manufacturer in St. Louis. He has been involved in services to the unhoused and the poor of the St. Louis community for most of his life. He’s also the former board president and treasurer of Places for People, serving on their board for over 20 years. He is the former president and current treasurer of Assisi House, an organization that provides supported, congregate housing for formerly unhoused individuals in a small community setting. Bill is now serving as treasurer for Vincent’s community outreach.
Jane Kraus
Secretary
Jane has been on the St Vincent’s Community Outreach board for 5 years and currently serves as Secretary. Jane is a member of St Vincent’s parish and is a Co-President of the Ladies of Charity and serves as Co-Chair of the Justice and Service Commission. She has been active in many of the parish ministries and after retiring as an Oncology Nurse she has dedicated her time to learning how to combat injustices within the community and at large.
Dennis Wells
Board Member​
Dennis served Vincent's Community Outreach for many years, most recently as a Board Member and currently in an Advisor role.
He has a Masters in Social Work from St. Louis University and has served on numerous not-for-profit boards over the course of three decades involving the alleviation of homelessness and poverty, including but not limited to Paul & Peter Community Services as a Board Member, the Missouri Department of Mental Health's Community Ties Program as Board President, Community Alternatives as Board President and Places for People as a Board Member. Dennis is an active parishioner at St. Vincent de Paul Church, where he has been the Director of Liturgy & Music since 1988 and served as a Lay Pastoral Associate for almost 30 years.
Joseph Kelley
Board Member​
" I began working in 1963, building single family homes, as well as working at a mortgage banking company in downtown St Louis making FHA and V.A, Loans, while finishing my bachelor’s at STLU. I continued building homes and doing the mortgage banking, as well as working on my master’s degree in economics.in 1967. I also completed my 48 hours of course work, but never finished my PHD, I fell in love with Patricia J Betz, who I met at my old girl friend’s wedding. Our marriage lasted 50 yrs. and 3 mos. We have adult children, Joseph Kelley III 53, and Christi K. Wolfe 49. Each of them has three children. I built over 3,000 homes, condominiums. Also built 3-4 shopping Center, and then I ventured into developing commercial properties, like shopping centers and suburban office centers, which Manchester/270 Office Center being my most notable being 415,000 SF in 3 buildings, and I constructed a 3-lane bridge over I 270 and named it in honor of my father as the JJ KELLEY MEMORIAL Dr. from 1986 to 2024. I retired on February 12,2024, and I plan to continue to spoil my two adult children and my six grandchildren. And travel the World and to spend time on various charities, as I always have in the past."
Gary Cason
Board Member​
With the aim of broadening his ability to support those in need, he became a member of the board.
For the past 15 years, he and his wife have dedicated themselves to volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, demonstrating their unwavering commitment to helping others.
Fr. Rich Wehrmeyer, CM
Pastor & Non Voting Board Member​
Rev. Rich Wehrmeyer, C.M was born and raised in the small Southern Illinois town of Metropolis. He began his Vincentian Seminary formation at the High School level and it continued for 15 years! A few of the highlights during those years were taking the Vows in 1984, Ordination as a Transitional Deacon in 1990, and Ordination into the Priesthood in 1991.
Of the 30+ years of his Ordained life, he has served 22 as a Parish Priest, either as Associate Pastor or Pastor. Many of those years he was located in the state of Colorado, the other 10 years of Priesthood saw him fulfilling the duties of Director of Formation, mainly in the East African country of Kenya.
Since July of 2023 Fr. Rich has been assigned Pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Church in St. Louis, and in August of that same year, he was assigned Pastor of St. Pius V Church in St. Louis. By virtue of being Pastor of St. Vincent's Fr. Rich is an ex-officio member of the Board of the Vincent's Community Outreach.
He enjoys serving on an organization that has love and concern for the poor as it's chief interest.
