YOUNG VINNIES CHRISTMAS APPEAL
CHRISTMAS HAMPERS
Earlier this term, each PCG was allocated a family that could use some extra Christmas cheer. The students worked together to prepare a Christmas hamper in a large laundry basket. Forty superb hampers were distributed to St Vincent de Paul Society Migrant Refugee group; Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (CARAD); Ruah Harmony House Women’s Shelter; and the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry Group. Each hamper also contained a Christmas card made by our students.
The PCGs also collected money for packs which contained meat and ham from McLoughlin Meats in Malaga. Many thanks to past parent Paul McLoughlin from McLoughlin Meats in Malaga for subsidising some of the cost of the meat packs. The meat packs were distributed to St Vincent de Paul Group, Ruah House and the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry.
The College received the emails/letters below in gratitude of our contribution:
“Thank you so much for your amazing donation of pantry items to the CARAD Foodbank. I was very excited to come to the College and find your laundry baskets full of goodies for our clients.
Your donation will directly assist people seeking asylum in WA who are very vulnerable, many with no income, work rights, or government benefits like Medicare. The financial hardship they experience means that over 100 people in the Perth community depend on our Foodbank to provide fresh food, pantry and hygiene items for themselves and their families each week. We rely solely on community donations like yours to keep our Foodbank operating.
Our clients are so appreciative of your gifts, and it makes a real difference to their lives. Some feedback we have recently received include:
“We are sincerely thankful to CARAD for helping us through our hard times of accommodation, food and rent. Your support has given us so much hope and positivity. Thank you, team, all of you are doing great work for people like us.”
So, thank you once again to the entire school community - staff, students, parents/caregivers and teachers - for your valued support and donations”.
Janna Parr - CARAD
I would like to once again thank Sacred Heart College for the generous and continued support that your community makes to the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry.
Each year, your gift of Christmas hampers is always welcomed and appreciated, so please be assured that it makes a difference to the lives of families in our Aboriginal community.
We often find that elderly couples, single mothers with children and grandmothers who are looking after grandchildren, find the hamper a blessing knowing that they are being thought of at this time of the year.
Thank you for your support and I congratulate you on the continuing work that you do in keeping social justice in the forefront of the hearts and minds of the students, families and staff of Sacred Heart College. May the peace, joy and blessings of Christmas be with you, and I wish you all the best for 2023.
Donella Brown - Director, Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Perth Catholic Archdiocese
CHRISTMAS GIFT BAGS
Our staff and Vinnies students also donated 63 Christmas gift bags for either a male or female recipient. Eighteen of these gift bags will be distributed at the Grace Café Outreach Centre in Joondalup’s Christmas party where the homeless and disadvantage will gather next week. The remainder were given as Christmas gifts to Passages Outreach Centre for Homeless Teenagers in Perth and to The Shopfront, another Catholic outreach centre in Bentley.
These gifts will more than likely be their only gift at Christmas.
CHRISTMAS LUNCH
Our Vinnies Group arranged for platters of cooked turkey and leg ham to be delivered to help feed the homeless at the following Christmas lunches:
- 100 teenagers at Passages Outreach Centre
- 20 adults at Grace Café
- 30 adults at The Shopfront in Bentley
The following quote from St Vincent de Paul Society explains why we encourage our Christmas Appeal:
“I woke up on Christmas morning knowing I had made a difference to someone’s life”.
Heartfelt thanks are due to our College community for its support of all the Young Vinnies events this year. We have truly put our faith into action and helped those in need.
Mrs Rossana Hywood
Administrative Assistant - Social Justice