Thank you to each and every person who donated to Vinnies in the month of February 2025. With your donations we were able to reach 828 people in need with not just food assistance, but household requirements, budgeting advice and clothing needs. This could only ever be possible with your contributions, so we thank you. Let's see if we can assist even more people in March 2025, together!
Last week we helped 203 households with mainly food requests, but we also provided assistance by way of furniture, bedding and clothes. As our biggest expense presently is for food - all cash donations are welcome and truly appreciated.
Thank you for all the support we had for 2024, all the funds allotted went into the food bank and into the welfare arm of St Vincent de Paul. For the month of December we helped 828 people in need. This year, as we open, the demand certainly has not reduced as people face the Christmas hangover and then getting children back to school with uniforms and textbooks. Your continued support is vital and so much appreciated.
What an achievement! With your help we've managed to assist 736 people so far this month (November 2024) with food parcels, supply of clothing and furniture items, such as beds, tables and chairs, dressers and white ware. Thank you to all our donors- without you we couldn't do what we do.
Over the last fortnight we have helped 327 households from the 1st of October until the 15th of October 2024 with food parcels, supply of clothing and furniture items, such as beds, tables and chairs, dressers and white ware. Thank you to all our donors without you we couldn't do what we do.
New supporters are always welcome.
Vincent de Paul's History
St Vincent de Paul (1581 – 1660) was the third child in a poor peasant farming family at Pouy, France. Although a talented student, family priorities meant that he was required to help on the family plot.
At 15, St Vincent de Paul went to Seminary College and then studied at Toulouse University receiving a Bachelor of Theology. He part-paid for his studies by tutoring other students.
At 19, St Vincent de Paul was ordained a priest and appointed Parish Priest a few years later. However, he resigned his Parish Priest role to avoid legal appeals against his appointment because of his young age.
On a return boat trip to Marseilles, St Vincent de Paul was taken captive and, for the next two years, he was sold and passed on as a slave from one master to another. When he was finally released from slavery, he returned to France and went to Rome to resume his studies. On his return to France, he ministered as Chaplain and Priest.
St Vincent de Paul founded, “The Ladies of Charity”, a group of wealthy women, to collect funds for missionary projects, hospitals, victims of war and to pay ransoms for the release of gallery-slaves in Paris.
St Vincent de Paul was well known by his flock for his compassion, humility and generosity. He was referred to as, “The Great Apostle of Charity”.
St Vincent de Paul’s Feast Day is the 27th September. He is the Patron Saint of Charities including the St Vincent de Paul Society.
At the end of our last year December 2023, we had completed and closed 8689 client cases ranging from food, bedding, furniture, clothing and firewood assistance. Thank you to all those that have helped us.
This year to date we have helped a record number of people already as the cost-of-living crisis continues to hurt.
Any donation is greatly appreciated and goes towards our welfare system - for food and bedding.
St Vincent de Paul has been around for 152 years in Christchurch and as of September 2019 had 355 volunteers.
In December of 2019 we were able to assist 888 households in Canterbury and give out over 465 gifts to those we support during the Christmas period. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this possible.
Our Latest phone line audit shows that we are helping an average of 400 individuals per week with food and other necessities of life. Over 800 bags of firewood have already been delivered this winter season in the Christchurch City Area. Many thanks to our young volunteers from the Young Vinnies groups who helped put many of these bags together. We are currently working on getting ""Street Swags"" from Australia for those who are sleeping rough in our city. These are waterproof, high quality bedding units that can be carried around like a back pack. These will be distributed to the most needy through our colleagues who are working with the homeless in the city. Many thanks for your ongoing support.
