MIAMI | More than 40 students of St. Kevin School took part in a recent Friends of the Poor Walk/Run for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, helping to raise funds for the local poor.

The students, along with members from 12 parishes that make up the Vincentians' South District, helped support programs that supply food baskets, medication, rent money, and expenses such as electric bills.

The goal is to raise about $1,000 per parish, said Fernando Reyes, district vice president for the Vincentians.

"I love to be part of this fundraiser because it's for a good cause," said St. Kevin student Alexander Rubido, one of those who did the walk/run around the school field Sept. 28. "We are helping someone that can't help themselves."

Vincentians are part of an international organization whose goal is to "spiritually touch those people that might have never experienced the love that those called to live as Christ's followers do experience," said Maria Perez, president of St. Vincent de Paul's South District.

The walk/run is one of many annual fundraisers held by the district for its benevolence projects. The first walk/run took place in 2008.

Some of the individuals helped are the lonely elderly, victims of domestic violence and poor immigrants who often don't make enough to feed their families.

"We strive to follow Pope Francis' motto of a Church that is poor and for the poor," Perez said. "The main purpose of our society is to grow spiritually by helping those in need. It is the privilege of encountering Christ: reachable, tangible, and human."