Bl Frederic Ozanam, Founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society

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1 Term 3, 2015 Welcome back to Term 3. Last term was certainly a big one for schools and in this newsletter, we will be sharing a few school reflections about some recent activities. Looking for some VINspiration in Term 3? Perhaps a focus on service might be the way to go. It can be easily overlooked. Term 1 and Term 2 tend to have a big fundraising emphasis. Fundraisers are definitely a favourite activity among students because they are fun and it is easy to see tangible results at the end. There are lots of effective ways to put faith into action and focusing on service based activities can add depth to the students understanding of what it truly means to be a Mini Vinnie. Yours must be a work of love, of kindness, you must give your time, your talents, yourselves. Bl Frederic Ozanam, Founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society Here are some ideas: Visit your local Vinnies Shop. Perhaps organise a collection of good quality used items to donate and learn how these shops work to support the community. Contact your local Store or conference to see if they will give a tour to your Mini Vinnies group. Spend time with isolated people - visit an aged care facility and play board games, read the newspaper, etc. Perhaps invite local elderly parishioners into your school and the Mini Vinnies can run lunchtime internet classes, or serve morning tea, etc. Do some gardening / cleaning-up - perhaps there are areas around school or the Church which need some TLC. Alternatively, your local St Vincent de Paul conference members might know of somebody close by who needs some help with weeding and tidying up the garden. Look at ways to improve friendships within the school community - the Mini Vinnies can run a weekly lunchtime game or teach younger grades a certain skill (eg. knitting), start a High-5 Fridays initiative, or other inclusive activity. Organise an awareness campaign on a certain issue that doesn t involve collecting money. Keep the focus on educating the school community about the issue... there are still lots of fun ways to do this. - show a film - run a skit at assembly - prepare a reflection at a school Mass (photo: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Primary School in Sunbury Mini Vinnies preparing a vegetable garden with a grant from Rotary. The veggies are used to support the local food kitchen program) 1

2 MINI VINNIES ACTIVITIES Thank-you to all the schools who have written in and shared their activities with us in Term 2. Here are a few of the reports to share with you. St Gregory the Great Primary School, Doncaster - School SleepOut On Friday the 12th of June, the grade 5/6 s held a sleepout at St Gregory s hall. 40 students attended as well as their parents/guardians. It was a fun and educational night. During this night we raised awareness for people who were homeless, without adequate food and shelter. To begin we shared a simple dinner of bread and soup, which is sometimes more than what some people get. We know that there are people who may go without for a few days. Gerard O Donnell came and spoke about the work of the St Vincent de Paul Society in our parish. Then Catherine Smith from the St Vincent de Paul Society gave a presentation about how many we as well as Mini Vinnies can make a difference. We played an activity, where we all got a lemon. We had to make up a story for our lemon and really get familiar with its markings and shape. Then we put it in a basket, mixed them up and find each of our lemons again. We talked about the fact that although, once peeled the lemons they all looked the same it is the markings on the outside that tell their story. This shows that everybody has a difference appearance on the outside but we are all the same on the inside. We spoke about the importance of getting to know someone before you make a judgement about their appearance and experiences. The Mini Vinnies lead us in prayer and reflection about the importance of compassion and respect for all. At the end of the evening we watched a movie (Big Hero 6) it was about never giving up and working for the greater good rather than be self-centred. This relates to us and it reminds us to be persistent and keep trying to reach a goal and be a better person. That night we all slept on cardboard with a sleeping bag and a small pillow. For us to get this was already very lucky in comparison to some other people as some people need to sleep on concrete and outside. We all learned that everybody on the outside might look different, but inside we are all the same. Some people just need a boost to start a new path to their life and everybody can contribute to making our world a better place to live in for our generation and our future generations. We hope that our past can determine who we are for our future. - Zserhyn, Natassia and Brianna (students) 2

3 St Patricks Primary School, Koroit - Feast of the Sacred Heart Pyjama Day Several years ago when our Mini Vinnies group was formed, one of the activities which the children decided they would like to do was to have a pyjama day. They wanted to come to school dressed in their pyjamas as a way of sympathizing with the homeless and disadvantaged. The Feast of the Sacred Heart was identified as being the most appropriate day to hold this event and as a result all students also attend Mass in their pyjamas. Further to this they decided that everyone should pay a gold coin donation for the privilege. The money that is raised each year has been passed on to the local St Vincent de Paul conference for their Winter Appeal. Another activity which the children enjoy is to visit with the clients at The Koroit Planned Activities Group (KPAG). On our recent visit we explained to them some of the activities that we do and why we do them. We invited the KPAG clients to our Pyjama Day Mass. They had already planned a morning of card playing but suggested that they would support us by wearing their pyjamas and donating money too. We felt this was a wonderful gesture and we were delighted with the results. At school we raised $ and at KPAG they raised $51.00 so we were able to present our St Vincent de Paul Society with $ for their Winter Appeal. We are really enjoying the relationship we have established with the KPAG clients and are grateful to them for their support. The St Patrick s Koroit, Mini Vinnies members would like to thank everyone who contributed or participated in our PJ Day this year. Val Murphy, Mini Vinnies Coordinator Trinity Primary School, Richmond North - Student prayers Following the Acrostic poem activity last term, one of the Mini Vinnies was inspired to write some prayers. Here are just a couple. We think they are beautiful and will put them up on the Mini Vinnies Resource page for other schools to use too if they wish. Thanks Polly H for your creative and reflective prayers. Dear God, We hope that we will do good things in the world and help others. We will also try our best at all the things we do in Mini Vinnies. We want to give thanks to everyone in the world and live our faith. Amen. Dear God, Please help me to be grateful for everything that I have. Let us act from kindness and give so that others do not suffer. In giving we share your love. Amen. 3 We have had a few requests asking when the next Mini Vinnies Book of Prayers will be printed. We don t have any plans to reprint the book at this stage so why not make it a school based Mini Vinnies project to create your own in-house prayer book to use in class, assemblies and at Mini Vinnies meetings.

4 St John Vianney s Primary School, Mulgrave - Commissioning Mass and Mini Fair Friday June 12th, at the Sharing Mass celebrated by the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. John McGinty, OMI our twenty seven (27) Mini Vinnies renewed their pledges. Those boys and girls have under their belts 2, 3 and 4 years membership and experience, proof of loyalty and dedication to the St Vincent de Paul Society cause. At the end of the official commissioning Catherine Smith, Membership & Development Officer- School Liaison, was presented by the Mini Vinnies leaders with a cheque for $2,000 towards the Assist A Student project. Under the strong and dedicated leadership of Ms. Liz Jackson, Teacher and coordinator, the Mini Vinnies had met, prayed, planned and organized a Mini Fair at the school to raise funds for needy students overseas. The Fair, which took place on Friday May 1st, was obviously blessed from Above as heaven provided a balmy and sunny morning. After morning Mass the whole school was allowed by the Principal Mr Simon Fitzpatrick to have some free time to enjoy the products of the 10 or more stalls such as face painting, ice cream, test your skills at ball throwing, etc. Also in the crowds were some Members of the Springvale North Conference who support the Mini Vinnies and attend their regular meetings. No doubt Jesus would have been pleased to witness the enthusiasm, dedication and generosity of His Little Helpers in action. Serge and Elsie Florent Members of the Springvale North Conference (To learn more about the Assist A Student program: > Our Impact > International Impact > Assist A Student) St Anthony s Primary School, Noble Park - Making Cupcakes On the 1st of June 2015, the Social Justice Group, also known as the Mini Vinnies at St. Anthony s Noble Park, came together to bake and decorate cupcakes for the Endeavour Hills Soup Van. St.Anthony s Mini Vinnies thought this was a great idea because it gave us the chance to help the people who really need it. This was really fun and it was a fantastic opportunity but this wouldn t have worked if Dinka and Jarrod (Greater Dandenong Young Vinnies) weren t there to help. Thank you so much! This was really fun and a great opportunity to help the people in need. 4

5 5 IN OTHER NEWS... Poster Competition A huge THANK-YOU to all the schools who entered the Poster Competition. We were so thrilled with the response with almost 40 schools submitting posters. We are still in the process of organising certificates and vouchers for schools and most importantly, organising the posters to be sent out to local Vinnies Stores. In addition to the statewide winner, if possible, we re aiming to put local school winners in local stores. All schools who entered will be informed when this happens. Thanks for your patience. CEO SleepOut 2016 Increasingly schools are being encouraged to participate in the annual Vinnies CEO SleepOut in the city. Your school would have received flyers during Term 2. A big congratulations to the following schools with Mini Vinnies who sent along representatives to the 2015 CEO SleepOut - St Gregory the Great, Doncaster (picture: top right) Our Lady of the Assumption, Cheltenham (picture: top right) Trinity Primary, Richmond North (picture: bottom right) Your school might consider sending your principal (or other senior team members) to the CEO SleepOut in It s an inspiring event to be part of and the school community can support the principal / teacher in the lead up. The Mini Vinnies and school community can learn about homelessness beforehand and principal / teacher can then report back to the school assembly afterwards and share their experiences braving the cold (...and boy oh boy, is it cold!). WINTER APPEAL 2015 Thank-you to ALL schools who supported the Winter Appeal in some way (and to those who are continuing their Winter Appeal activities in Term 3). The local conferences and wider organisation rely on this generosity to keep doing the good works in the community. Speaking from a personal perspective with my member hat on, it has been wonderful to have a fully stocked food pantry again at our Parish (refer to empty pantry photo from last newsletter). I have loved being able to give families a variety of yummy items that go beyond baked beans and tinned corn. The Soup Vans have been overwhelmed with blankets, socks, beanies and toiletries to distribute too. THANK-YOU! - Catherine, School Liaison Officer

6 6 A Special Request from the Fundraising Team Are there any passionate artists in your Mini Vinnies group? The St Vincent de Paul Society wants to be able to be able to celebrate special times with our supporters like Birthdays, Christmas and other special events, by sending them a card. It would be amazing if the Mini Vinnies could help to design these cards. The cards will have a reference to the fact that they have been designed by Mini Vinnies. We are excited to see what you can design with the following themes: CHRISTMAS: Giving at Christmas time, Joy, hope and love at Christmas time or What Christmas means to me BIRTHDAYS: Birthdays Are Special, Birthdays are a time for sharing or A Vinnies Birthday All PURPOSE CARDS: The theme needed here is one of Caring These themes do not need to be reflected in the words on the front of the card, although we would like to have Christmas or Birthday on the front of the relevant card. We would need these designs by 30 August to get them into print for our Christmas mailing. Please note, only a selection of designs can be chosen for print. The students who design these cards will be notified and recognised with a certificate and prize. Go, Mini Vinnies let s see what you can do! Renee McLoughlin Donor Relations Manager A MESSAGE FROM YOUR SCHOOL LIAISON OFFICER Well, it is with excitement, and a little disbelief, that I tell you this is my last Mini Vinnies newsletter... for a little while anyway. Towards the end of term, I will be heading off on maternity leave. That s right, I m giving birth to my own little Mini Vinnie (... I m sure there are less cumbersome ways to increase my stats :-D ). There are lots of changes happening at head office currently so I ll have to update you closer to the time about plans for while I m away. Don t forget that you can always call our office or schools@svdp-vic.org.au and you will still be assisted as best as possible. I have loved this role over the past 18 months and have been so blown-away by the schools that I have visited - the enthusiasm of the students and the commitment from teachers is without doubt inspiring. Most importantly of all, the assistance that our organisation (and other non-profit organisations) have received because of the efforts of Mini Vinnies has without doubt changed lives - locally, nationally, globally. So I leave you simply with a giant THANK-YOU and GOD BLESS for all that you do. Best wishes now and always, Catherine Smith - Schools Liaison Officer (primary)