May 23, 2018 3 min read

It was with much sadness that we learned Rendu Services Inc., a collaborative ministry that provides health and other services to Fayette County residents, will close this year.

Incorporated in 2001 as a nonprofit agency, Rendu Service’s longstanding mission is to serve the county’s poorest residents by providing free health screenings and referrals, a pantry that provides food to nearly 100 needy families, youth and family activities in housing projects and client needs assessments and referrals to supportive agencies. Rendu Services workers also sought to educate people on parenting and life skills, elder care and emotional support.

The ministry was founded by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, and expanded its services in 2007 in collaboration with the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Western Province. The agency operated with an annual budget of $300,000.

Donations and volunteers from across the four-county area that encompasses the Diocese of Greensburg bolstered the mission.

The three congregations don’t have the personnel to replace the current staff in the future, making closure inevitable, said Sister Barbara Einloth from the Sisters of Charity at Seton Hill.

“The struggle has been going on …for a couple of years,” said Einloth. “We want it to continue. All of us feel really bad that it has to close. It makes me sad. It makes me really sad.”

To say a void will be felt by the county’s most disadvantaged and needy citizens when Rendu Services closes its doors is an understatement, but the sisters are working hard to make the transition a smooth one for their clients.

The sisters anticipate they will stop taking new clients during the summer, and hope to hand out laminated cards that provide people other places they can go for similar services. The planned date to cease operations is Nov. 1, though Einloth said that could change.

They are also hopeful that someone will step forward to continue their good works, a hope we echo, knowing that the need is so great. Of particular interest, said Einloth, is finding an agency or nursing volunteers who would like to take over work on the mobile health van.

As of last week, no one has expressed interest in doing so.

While the county may have its struggles, one of the things that routinely makes us proudest is the way the community comes together to lend a hand to those in need. We lift one another up, and help each other.

There’s a need to fill, and we are optimistic that a group of volunteers or another agency will step forward to continue this great mission.

Einloth herself called her experience working with the ministry “life-changing.” And through their work, the ministry has undoubtedly changed the lives of many.

We know there must be people out there who want to continue being that positive impact for the community. In the meantime, we offer our sincerest thanks to the sisters for their charitable works and for the good they’ve done to help our community.