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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Joseph Kelley