Faith in Action

SEATOUN & MIRAMAR CONFERENCE ‘GOOD WORK’ UPDATE:

“Extend your mercy towards others, so that there can be no one in need whom you meet without helping.”

- Saint Vincent de Paul

A large family had a broken beam on their steel bed. A Conference member dismantled the bed, took the frame to a friend, had it rewelded and returned to reassemble the bed with the husband. We loaned the couple several paving stones to prop up the bed for three days.

A client was assisted to sell items on Trade Me in order to dispose of ‘too much stuff’ in the house and get some extra cash within the WINZ allowances. The Conference member had skills in Internet use and coached the client to start doing a few online sales.

On Thursdays, except in school holidays, Conference members transport and host elderly parishioners to the rosary, Mass, lunch and social chatter that is held at St Anthony’s Church Seatoun for about 20 elderly parishioners from the Miramar, Seatoun and Strathmore area. This wonderful service for our precious elders has been supported for over 40 years in this Church community through the devotion of a small team of parishioners.

Every two years the communities of St Anthony’s Church and School Seatoun run a successful bazaar to raise funds for specific purposes such as building maintenance or purchasing needed equipment. The Vinnies van collected a large range of saleable items leftover from the bazaar last month for selling in the Vinnies shops and contributing to the cost of services at the Newtown Welfare Centre.

In 2018, school uniform items, shoes and activities were purchased for 98 school students from $8,216 donations made through the Conference by compassionate parishioners and other local people for the purpose of assisting students locally from some of the poorest families in the eastern suburbs. A total of 310 students have been assisted in this way from $24,600 of donations received since the initiative started in 2012 in collaboration with local schools.

Interested in joining your local Vinnies Conference? See ‘Become a Member’.