About Us
Special Projects
The Society is currently working on several Special Projects.
Recycling
The Society of St Vincent de Paul in Hastings is dedicated to helping people within the community as well as nationally and they’ve just found a whole new way to do so with the organisation’s new recycling and refurbishing programme.
The new venture allows people to donate household items such as computers, TVs, vidoe and DVD players, speakers, cables and virtually anything electronic - working or not. The items will them be repaired for resale. For more information contact Frank Newrick, ph: 06 873-5911.
Loaves and Fishes - School lunches for children
Loaves and fishes is a St Vincent de Paul city-wide initiative providing lunches for children who go to school without breakfast or lunch, sometimes both. School Principals, teachers and/or the school’s Social Worker assess the childrens needs on a confidential basis.
The lunches are made by St Vincent de Paul volunteers and all churches invited to participate. The project is not intended as a service because a child has forgotten to brng his or her lunch, it’s aim is to provide a ‘hand-up’ rather than a ‘hand-out’. The lunches are coupled with various free educatinal courses for the parents to provide the best help for the family.
The Loaves and Fishes projects are currently operating in both Tauranga and Hamilton.
Society of St Vincent de Paul Christmas Cards
2009 Christmas Cards
Dunedin Area Council are delighted to offer Society of St Vincent de Paul Christmas cards. The Society in New South Wales is no longer supplying cards outside their State so Dunedin Area Council have produced their own. Their will be a set print run following the idea of ‘first in - first served’. If requested a poster showing the card designs will be sent prior to orders being taken.
Cards will be availabe by the beginning of October and preferably orders need to be in by 1 September 2009 to:
Connie Watson, Dunedin Area Council, 4 Kipling Street, Waverley, Dunedin 9013
or email orders to:
Physical addresses are required for delivery by courier. Please do not send money with your order. Cards will be invoiced along with courier cost upon delivery.
The price of the cards are $1.50 for a packet of 5 cards, a reduction from last year reflecting local printing and no exchange rate. The RRP is $2.50.
The Conference phone number for enquiries - not for placing orders is Dunedin 03 454 2533.
The contact person is Connie Watson, Sts Alphonsus/St Brigids Conference, Dunedin.
The Dunedin Area Council act as an agent for the society of St Vincent de Paul National Council of New Zealand.
National Mobile Van Projects
In the spirit of our founder, Blessed Frederic Ozanam, the Society’s Mobile Van service brings practical assistance and friendship to people in need.
Volunteers accept each individual and their lifestyle and their hope is to inspire feelings of dignity, self-esteem and value. The relationship with the people they serve does not end with the handing over of a meal. There is a follow-through process where links are provided to other services, including furniture, clothing, budget advice, financial assistance and referrals to St Vincent de Paul Conferences and Centres.The Society in New Zealand currently operates mobile an projects in Tauranga Hamilton and Auckland.
Hamilton Mobile Van ‘FullFill’
The mobile van FullFill visits suburbs in Hamilton handing our free nutritious snacks and drinks to help recepients’ budgets stretch a little futher. As well as providing assistance in the short term, it is a tool a ‘way in’ to help make contact with people, build relationships and trust and if required help put people in touch with the right social service.
For the Volunteers there is the chance to mix with other sectors of society to help those less fortunate than themselves.
Interested in volunteering? Phone George on 021 232 9128
Western Bay Mobile Van
The mobile van project was established in Tauranga in 2006. The project involves 140 volunteers from the Society as well as from six other churches in the area. The volunteers assist people who are living at a subsistence level and help families who are struggling, especially children.The route
- Monday - Arataki & Matapihi (Hartford Ave, Korowai St)
- Tuesday – Ohaulti (Harrisfield Dr, Windermere, Hainni St, Maungatapu Rd)
- Wednesday – Merivale (19 & 20th Ave, Henderson Cres, Waimapu St)
- Thursday – Greerton (Wylie St Hynds Rd, Coopers Rd, Mansel Rd, Centrepoint)
- Friday – Gate Pa (Watling St, Anzac Rd, 21-23rd Ave, Humber Cresc, Shell garage)
- Saturday – Welcome Bay (Meander Dr, Waitaha Rd, Corinna St)
- Sunday – Bellevue (Kingswood Rd, Windsor Rd and Judea Rd)
Auckland City Mobile Van Project 24/7
Project 24/7 is a Young Adults initiative and it primarily targets families who seek assistance from St Vincent de Paul Centres. Through personal contact volunteers work night and day shifts delivering food, furniture and clothing to families in need.The van delivers food, clothing and furniture to Women’s Refuge and supports ongoing Vinnies Ministry in the community. Food, clothing and linen are also stocked in the vans in city carparks for families of prison ex-inmates to help them set up their homes.
Interested in volunteering? Phone Del on 021 447 868
Hug Rugs
Dunedin Area Council supply Hug Rugs on behalf of the society of St Vincent de Paul National Council of New Zealand to those who are ‘shut in’, new mothers, the elderly and anyone who needs them. The rugs are of polar fleece material which are made into rugs by Vinnies and adult members. The rugs are 1800mm square and smaller ones are available for babies.
A true story: This took place in the North Island a couple of years ago. The daughter of an elderly woman told a Youth Coordinator how much her mother appreciated the Hug Rug given to her years ealier by a Vinnie. The Vinnie had visited the old woman in a rest home and had given her the rug and they immediately became friends. It was not just the Rug but he thought and love that went with it. When the old woman died, at her request, she was buried with the hug rug around her as she put it "surrunded by the love in which it was given’.
Special Projects - Wellington
The Society’s Wellington Area Council undertakes Special Works that include the manufacture of Communion wafers for parishes throughout New Zealand, budgeting assistance to help people to manage their finances more effectively, family support so that parents and children don’t need to feel alone, advocacy to ensure that injustices are addressed, English language classes for anyone who has difficulty with the English language and support to pregnant and recently pregnant mothers and their babies. Other special works undertaken and/or supported by the Wellington Area Council include the city’s Night Shelter, a refugee support and settlement program, the Suzanne Aubert Soup Kitchen and the Wellington Catholic Homes Trust.
For further information or assistance please contact the Manager/Secretary on 04 389 7122 or visit http://www.vinnies-wellington.org.nz