Society - March 2013

Winter appeal and blanket appealOur winter appeal and blanket appeal will be launched in May this year.

Last year a number of organisations such as 300 Blankets and Harness Racing Victoria, ran blanket collections in offices, making significant donations that were then distributed to people sleeping rough via our soup vans or to families in

need through our conference members. If you would like more information about the appeal, contact 9895 5800 or email [email protected]

4 Vinnies Youth

Vinnies Youth rattle tins at the Wiggles concerts in Melbourne

Government House Donor Event

An opportunity to thank donors for their support

Christmas Gift Appeal

Members of the HMAS Cerberus delivered more than 600 toys

5 6

A newsletter for supporters of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Victoria > March 2013

society

HMAS Cerberus delivering toys for the Christmas Gift Appeal.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.vinnies.org.au

President’s messageDear friends of the Society...

I hope you all had the opportunity to relax with family and friends over the Christmas break. As you might imagine, it is a time when there is considerable demand on the Society for assistance to make Christmas a more festive occasion for those who might otherwise go without. I am pleased to report in this edition that our Christmas gift appeal was a great success and was made a little more exciting thanks to a special delivery from HMAS Cerberus which you can read about on page 6. Our financial Christmas appeal is on target to reach $700,000, a record for the Society in Victoria. We are so grateful to all our donors for supporting the Society in whatever way they can. It all means we can continue to support Victorians in need.

We are already turning our minds to winter and the ways we can work with you in order to meet increasing demand. I intend to report back to you in our next edition on the ways we have been innovating in order to do this. Our annual Vinnies CEO Sleepout continues to be a large component of our winter campaign in 2013. Some of you may be interested in registering for the event or sponsoring a participant – you can do this at www.ceosleepout.org.au

With best wishes,

Tony TomeState President

March 2013

Governor Alex Chernov and State President Tony Tome.

2 > Newletter for supporters of the St Vincent de Paul Society in Victoria > March 2013

http://www.ceosleepout.org.au


society > 3

Dandenong Homework Tutoring ProgramIn 2008 the Dandenong Homework Tutoring Program opened its doors. It was the beginning of an exciting venture into education which had its origins, inspiration and initial planning in the Refugee, Asylum Seeker and Migrant Committee.

The program was set up in South East Melbourne to support families with the education of their children. It is intended to provide practical educational and social support for students who are vulnerable to becoming detached from formal education. We focus on literacy and numeracy skills and homework help, as well as highly valuing and promoting the social development and confidence of our students. The program gleans much support and encouragement from the Dandenong Regional Council, as well as the St Mary’s Parish and Primary School.

Over the last five years, the program has gone from strength to strength. We currently tutor over 60 students each week, with the help of over 30

volunteers. Our students and tutors attend regularly and families often express their gratitude. They report that their children are having a positive educational experience at the program and are performing better and participating more actively at school since attending tutoring with us. We have incorporated bread distribution, have participated in local community events and have formed good working relationships with other community groups, schools and organisations.

At the program, I witness volunteers give their time and talents as they offer help that will have lasting effects. Education is a great way to impact and engage in the lives of those who are vulnerable and it has an amazing ripple effect.

Michelle PereiraDandenong Homework Tutoring Program Coordinator

Quest Apartments donationFollowing a major refurbishment in late 2012, Quest Apartments Docklands donated all of their replaced furniture, bedding and electrical goods to Vinnies Centres.

State President Tony Tome and Vinnies Centres State Manager Garry McBride met with the franchisee of Quest Docklands Michael Hibberd and General Manager Brendan du Kamp, to present them with a plaque as a sign of our gratitude for their very generous donation.

Dandenong Homework Tutoring Program in action.

Please make a difference by donating to Vinnies.

Call 13 18 12 or visit vinnies.org.au



Soup vans at Government House on Australia Day

Government House holds an annual open day for the public on Australia Day and this year the Society’s soup vans, along with Foodbank and Second Bite, were invited to participate by selling food to visitors on the day.

More than 17,000 people waited patiently in line to get a tour of the house and were entertained by the Victoria Police Band. With the assistance of volunteers from community group 300 Blankets we sold sandwiches and cold drinks and raised much needed funds for the soup van service in metropolitan Melbourne. We extend out thanks to the volunteers who came along on the day to support the operation.

Vinnies Youth – supporting Victorian kids in needMembers of Vinnies Youth volunteered their time in December 2012 to rattle tins to raise money at the Wiggles Celebrations concerts in Melbourne. They raised $1200 which will go towards their Kids’ Camp program in 2013. The Wiggles have kindly offered us this fundraising opportunity nationally for many years, one of many ways they support the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Vinnies Youth are looking for further support for their Kids’ Camps which give children aged 6-11 the chance to go on a fun camp with other kids who would not ordinarily have the opportunity to go on holiday.

Donations to Vinnies Youth are used to purchase goods such as sporting equipment, craft supplies, first aid

supplies and other resources and well as excursions to places such as Sovereign Hill. A donation of $300 covers the cost of sending one child on our Kids’ Camps.

The work of Vinnies Youth work with older children and teenagers includes mentoring and life skills development as well as the annual Roadshow program in regional Victoria where senior secondary school students learn leadership skills from our Vinnies Youth volunteers.

Fo more information about the work of Vinnies Youth contact Catherine Watson on 9895 5840 or [email protected]


society > 5

Government House donor eventOn 22 November 2012 the Society, with the support of our patron Victorian Governor Alex Chernov, hosted an event at Government House for our donors and supporters. The event was not only an opportunity for us to thank our donors and supporters for their support with our work assisting Victorians in need, but also a chance to provide an update on the ways in which we do that. State President Tony Tome reflected on the fact that the work we do is no less relevant today than when it first began 158 years ago in Melbourne, and sadly, no less needed. Tony shared the story of Claire* who came to us for assistance when she found herself suddenly without a home for herself and her children. Through regular visits by our members, we have been able to provide life-changing support to Claire. Tony reported with pride that our members assisted Claire to find housing, provided assistance through Vinnies Centres to

furnish her house and provided clothes for the whole family as well as assistance with school expenses such as uniforms and stationery. Claire was referred to the Society by a program for single women wanting to return to work and with their support and ours; Claire finished a Certificate of Business Administration late last year. This is one of many stories of people who come to us for a hand up, not a hand out. We could not do this work without the support of our donors so Tony closed by thanking everyone present for their support of our work.

We would like to thank the Governor for his ongoing support of the St Vincent de Paul Society and for allowing us to hold this event at Government House.

We would also like to thank the students from Xavier College who attended and performed as a string quartet, providing a beautiful ambience for the event held out in the garden on a lovely sunny day.



* Name changed for privacy reasons.



Christmas gift appeal – a special deliveryMembers of HMAS Cerberus and the Navy Steam Club delivered more than 600 toys to our Christmas gift appeal on Wednesday 12 December. The gifts, valued at around $11,000, were distributed by conference members to people they were assisting in the lead-up to Christmas. The gifts were delivered in spectacular fashion on a 1923 Foden Steam Wagon which travelled from the St Kilda Rd barracks to our warehouse in Altona North.

This was one of many donations to our annual gift appeal from schools, community groups and corporate organisations. Our sincere thanks to all of our gift donors, including the HMAS Cerberus team, for their generous donations.

Our 2012 Christmas Appeal now exceeds $700,000, a record amount for the appeal in Victoria.

Thank you to all our donors for supporting the ‘In every face of despair, we see a face of hope’ campaign.

society > 7

A gift for the futureIf you are interested in exploring the idea of a gift in your will to the St Vincent de Paul Society, or simply need general information on wills and bequests and related areas, help is at hand.

Three booklets are available which cover:• willsandbequests• theroleofexecutorofawilland• powersofattorneyand

guardianship.

Eachofthebookletsinclude;suggestedwordingforaclausein yourwillforagifttotheSociety,applyingforprobate,achecklistofpeopleanexecutorshouldcontact andanexplanationofthedifferenttypesofpowersofattorney.

Lookingafteryourlovedonesandthosewhodependuponyouistheprimaryconsiderationwhendrawingupawill,butitmaybethatitispossibletoalsoincludeagiftwhichwillsupportofthefutureworkoftheSocietywiththemanydisadvantagedpeoplewithwhomweworkeveryday.

FormoreinformationpleasecontactSuePitt–BequestCoordinatoron 9895 5821 or [email protected]

Compeer – a special work of the St Vincent de Paul SocietyThe Compeer program, a volunteer support and social program which assists people with mental illness in the Melbourne and Bendigo communities, ended 2012 well with a reinvigorated Advisory Committee.CompeerrecruitedanumberofpeopletotheroleofAdvisorandnowhascommitteememberswitharangeofskillsandexperienceincludinglawyers,mentalhealth,socialworkandmarketingprofessionalswhichwillaidinachievingthegoalssetbytheprogram.

AkeyfocusforCompeerVictoriain2013isthecelebrationofour10thanniversaryandwehopetoarrangeanumberofeventsforvolunteersandtheircompanions.InMay,duringVolunteerWeek,wehopetoprovideouractivitybooklettoourvolunteerswhichhasbeencompiledtoprovideinformationonlocalresourcesandpossibleplacesofinterestforvolunteerstousewhenidentifyingactivitiesforthemselvesandtheircompanion.Ifyouareable

tosupportthisprogramortheactivitybookletprojectpleaseemail [email protected]

Liz CrombVictorianCompeerManager

Community and corporate fundraisingOur community and corporate fundraising program continues to grow with a number of new partnerships developing and older partnerships being strengthened.

Long-timepartnerFordAustraliacontinuetoconducttheiremployeegivingprogram,IGAsupportedourChristmasAppealthroughdonationscollectedatcashregistersandapercentageofsalesfromselectedproductssoldinstore.TheIGAChristmasAppealraised$265,000nationally.

LadrorestaurantinFitzroystartedaninitiativein2012whereinsteadofchargingcorkageonMondaynights,theyaskpatronstodonate$5totheMatthewTalbotFitzroySoupVan.Thesedonationsresultedinatotalof$1,750beingdirectedtotheFitzroyvanattheendoftheyearandwearedelightedtheLadrowillcontinuethisfundraisinginitiativein2013.









Vinnies CEO Sleepout The Vinnies CEO Sleepout will be held again this year in cities across Australia on Thursday 20 June.

A key event on our fundraising calendar, the event involves business and community leaders sleeping out on the cold concrete for a night at Etihad Stadium. By seeking sponsorships, participants raise money to support our homeless services. Last year participants raised $638,000 in Victoria and $5.3m nationally.

For more information or to sign up visit www.ceosleepout.org.au

St Vincent de Paul Society of Victoria

43 Prospect StreetBox Hill Victoria 3128

Phone: (03) 9895 5800 Fax: (03) 9895 5850 Email: [email protected]

vinnies.org.au

For credit card donations visit vinnies.org.au or call 13 18 12

donate







Documents

Society - March 2013