Vinnies raise donations for children in foster homes

March 14th, 2013

Kids helping kids in need was exactly what St Peter Chanel Vinnies of Motueka were up to on Thursday March 7th as part of Purple Cake Day celebrations.

This team of 13 Year 7 and 8 students, who are youth members of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, give up their lunch time each Thursday to help people in need.

Over the past couple of years they have done a variety of activities including visiting the residents of Woodlands Resthome at least once a term, creating an ensemble of baby items to assist families in need who have babies and toddlers, and putting together head scarf packs for Cancer patients who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy.

The St Peter Chanel Vinnies decided this year that they would like to do something for children in their local community to celebrate Purple Cake day. With this in mind, they organised an appeal to help children who require the support of foster homes.

The idea for this came about when it was drawn to the attention of Vinnies Youth Coordinator, Philippa Winch, that quite often children who need to be moved to a foster home or even a grandparent's place can arrive with no personal belongings.

Local community organisations such as the Society of St Vincent de Paul often step in to supply the resources needed in such circumstances.

"By giving students the opportunity to reach out to other children in need, it helps many of them realise just how fortunate they are in a world where we can take so much for granted," says Philippa. "It fosters compassion and service for others."

The appeal that the St Peter Chanel Vinnies organised culminated in a movie lunch hour. In exchange for being able to enjoy a movie and receive a small bag of popcorn each, the students at St Peter Chanel were invited to bring along an item that a child moving into a foster home may need.

A variety of items were donated including toys, books, toiletry items and clothing. The Crafty Critters Business also supported these fundraising efforts by donating purple cupcake critters.

Over the next couple of weeks, the St Peter Chanel Vinnies will have the task of sorting out the donations that were received and putting these items into the bags that they created. These bags will then be given to the Open Home Foundation to give to children in need.

"This gesture we hope will help to make the transition foster children face an easier one," says Philippa.

The St. Peter Chanel Vinnies with the donations that came in for foster children in the local community.

A few of the knitted Purple Cake Day Cupcakes donated by Crafty Critters added to the celebrations.

Comment by Malcolm Garrett:
[Posted 18 March 2013]

We are all very proud of the efforts our Vinnies make to help others in need. Our grown up version, St Vincent de Paul Society, is also very active amongst the needy in our area, but we prefer to work quietly if we can.

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