http://vinnies.org.au/files/ACT/Newsletters/39832_St_Vincent_De_Paul_Newsletter_03[2]

SPRING 2009

In this issue

President’s Message

President’s Message

Welcome to the St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn Central Council newsletter.

During the past few months, the Society has been working hard delivering support to people in need over the cold winter months. We launched our Winter Appeal, which runs from May until the end of August, and have received generous donations that will assist many of our programs, including Night Patrol, Homeless Services and our youth programs and our refuges in Canberra and Goulburn through our Special Works area.

Tuggeranong Vinnies Centre Celebrates 20 Years with a Fashion Parade!

What’s Happening in the Youth Conference!

Launch of the Compeer Program for South Canberra and Queanbeyan Community Green Thumbs Amongst Our Residents Monster Warehouse Clothing Sale Raises Funds for Vinnies Youth!

Not only are we assisting people with food and warmth for the winter, but we are also addressing many issues facing our region, including mental health issues, and the emerging poverty of social isolation.

Some Warm Relief for Our Homeless Services

Our women’s refuge in Goulburn, St. Anthony’s, opened in March and provides accommodation and outreach services for single older women in crisis. Our new Special Works program, Compeer, was launched in July and provides a friendship program that matches people experiencing loneliness and isolation through suffering from a mental illness with a volunteer for support and friendship.

St. Anthony’s (Goulburn) New Love for Food

We hope you enjoy this newsletter, thank you for all your support and kind donations to the Society. We will continue to work hard to meet and exceed your expectations as a charitable organisation.

God Bless,

All correspondence and contributions can be sent to: Communications Officer Community and Corporate Relations

Evan Brett President, Canberra/Goulburn Central Council

PO Box 642, Mawson, ACT, 2607 stephanie.hawkins@stvincanb.com.au

We wish to sincerely thank our supporters including:

St Vincent de Paul Society – Canberra/Goulburn Central Council Newsletter Spring 2009

St. Anthony’s (Goulburn) New Love for Food St. Anthony’s has introduced a cooking program for the women at their residence, and is run by Sharon every Tuesday.

The program has been running for 4 weeks, and it has been a fantastic course. The women have found the cooking program rewarding as new skills are developed and even some old skills are revamped. They also find it incredibly fun and a good way to bond together and form friendships.

Each cooking week is different, and can range from spicy tacos to a delicious roast dinner.

Below: Sharon (front) is cooking up a storm with a resident at St. Anthony’s.

Monster Warehouse Clothing Sale Raises Funds for Vinnies Youth!

On the 21st and 22nd August, the Mitchell warehouse organised a fundraising event to raise money towards Vinnies Youth. The warehouse had a monster clothing sale which also included accessories, sports equipment, toys and books.

Not only did this event help raise money for Vinnies Youth and the programs they run, but it also helped to raise the profile of the fantastic efforts Vinnies Youth offers for the underprivileged children in the region. Vinnies Youth provides these kids with young role models to look up to, as well as holiday camps, sports teams and day activities to give some relief from the struggles of their daily lives. Vinnies Youth is run by volunteers who are aged from 17 – 27 and they give up their time almost every weekend and holidays to help those less fortunate.

The Monster Warehouse Clothing Sale event was a huge success as it raised around $23,000, and more than 2,000 people came to shop at the warehouse. This event will certainly become an annual event to assist the St Vincent de Paul Society (Canberra/ Goulburn Central Council) to continue helping people in our community.

Above: (far right) Marlene Plumb - Community and Corporate Relations.

Some Warm Relief for Our Homeless Services The AGL Warmth in Winter Program has contributed an outstanding donation of $4,504.04 to the Canberra/Goulburn Central Council. This generous amount will help support our homeless services in the Society.

Since 2004, this program has been a corporate supportive sponsor for homeless Australians by helping to fund the energy bills of emergency accommodation services in New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, and the ACT. This year, the Central Council was the first to receive the contribution amongst hundreds of other organisations that applied for this program. The contribution will be distributed to our homeless services to help with their utility costs, including Kennedy House in Goulburn; Samaritan House in Hackett; and our Family Service accommodation in Mawson.

Above: Bob Wilson (CEO Canberra/Goulburn Central Council) receiving cheque from Luke Gonzalez and Adam Crane (representing AGL Energy)

Ordinary people helping anyone in need

Launch of the Compeer Program for South Canberra and Queanbeyan Community In April, Kerry Richardson was appointed as the Compeer Program Coordinator to establish the program for the South Canberra and Queanbeyan community.

The Compeer Program was officially launched on the 24th July for the St Vincent De Paul Society Canberra / Goulburn Central Council. The launch was to increase community and professional awareness of the Compeer Program services and its great value to the community for people living with a mental health illness.

There was a great response from people in the community enquiring to be volunteers as a result from the launch, as well as many health professionals actively supporting the program by referring their clients.

The program hopes to increase public awareness of the stigma associated with people living with a mental illness. It is also anticipated that people with a mental illness will overcome loneliness due to the true act of a caring Compeer friendship.

If you or someone you know with a mental illness who would like to know more about the Compeer Program please contact Kerrie Richardson on the details below. For more information about Compeer Volunteering please also contact Kerrie Richardson.

Compeer Program Coordinator: Kerrie Richardson Phone: 6121 2953 Email: compeer@stvincanb.com.au Above: Kerry Richardson, Compeer Program Co-coordinator

Tuggeranong Vinnies Centre Celebrates 20 Years with a Fashion Parade!

On the 22nd August, the Tuggeranong Vinnies Centre held a fashion parade to commemorate 20 years of being in the valley. It was a wonderful evening to celebrate the past 20 years, and it also raised $5,430. The guest MC was Mark Carmody from the ABC News Canberra, and they also had 14 fabulous models, including our very own Glenn Ladd, OH&S Auditor!

There was live music, with thanks to the ANU School of Music, and drinks and hors d’oeuvers provided to the 150 guests that attended the event.

Thanks to Kennards Hire and Bytes N Colours for sponsoring this event. The fashion parade would not have been a huge success without the wonderful work Dee Hogan and her team at Vinnies Tuggeranong.

St Vincent de Paul Society – Canberra/Goulburn Central Council Newsletter Spring 2009

Green Thumbs Amongst Our Residents.

What’s Happening in the Youth Conference!

Youth have been busy this past month!

The youth team held an Advanced Training Weekend at Fitzroy Falls from the 28th August. They had two professional trainers, Tim Moore and Bobbi Cook, to enlighten the volunteers on topics such as behaviour management, spectrum disorders and childhood development. The weekend was very educational and provided the volunteers with some exciting new ideas when working with children.

The St. Joe’s conference recently ran a July Camp follow-up activity at Monkey Mania. It was a huge success as there was over 35 children and everyone had a fantastic time. The generous staff at Monkey Mania provided St. Joe’s with a discounted entry and a party room which was awesome. Lunch was also provided by the conference with some healthy sandwiches, chips, drinks, and fruit for the kids and volunteers.

St. Joe’s will also be having their school holiday camp coming up on the 5th-9th of October. The theme of the camp will be Disco Fever, and will be led by two youth volunteers, Alison McQueen and Roman Abdel-Massih.

On the 4th September, the St Nick’s conference organised a dinner and movie night for the Young Carers in their program. Hoyts Tuggeranong bigheartedly ran a special screening of the movie Coraline and the dinner was held at La Porchetta. There were approximately 12 staff and 25 young carers that attended this event.

Other events coming up in the next few months in the St. Nick’s conference include a trivia night, to run in October, and the volunteers will be busy preparing for January camp next year.

For any enquires about our Youth programs please contact Chelsea, Youth Co-ordinator, on 61212955.

In July, the Canberra/Goulburn Central Council introduced a gardening program designed to promote the joy and benefits of eating home grown vegetables.

Residents of the Family Services program and Samaritan House were given the opportunity to work with a gardener to create their own veggie patch.

The gardening program has been a great success, as eight new gardens were created, and the residents have enjoyed observing their hard work developing into a budding veggie patch.

The therapeutic effect of gardening has had many positive benefits for these individuals and families.

One family in our Family Services program had lost contact with their eldest son. The son was invited to help create the veggie patch, especially to assist with some of the heavier duties.

The son assisted his mother over a period of days and, as a result, the program helped reconnect their relationship, and they now have regular contact.

Other families are also enjoying the bonds created through spending time together and working with each other. They also experience the sense of hope that is created from working on these gardens.

It is hoped that our families, with the assistance of our gardener, will develop a love for gardening, while reaping the benefits of healthy eating.

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