What are the Mini Vinnies doing around England & Wales?

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Northampton

On 15th March 2022, Year 6 children at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Northampton held a coffee afternoon to raise funds for the people from Ukraine.

We were all talking about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and we were watching Newsround daily for updates.

We were concerned about the families fleeing their homes and, as Mini Vinnies, we wanted to put our concern into action. Mrs. Wilson asked us what we would like to do, and everyone agreed we should hold a coffee afternoon, just as we had done for the bush fires in Australia, just before Covid 19.

We started by writing letters to the local shops and supermarkets asking for any donations they could give us for a coffee afternoon. We were inundated with tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits, cakes, and milk. Everyone was very excited, and we created posters to send home to the parents and put up around the school.

The day came and Mrs. Wilson and Miss Scarth helped us to set up the hall ready to welcome the parents. The afternoon was a great success and we raised £311 for a charity the SVP are supporting: Depaul International Emergency Appeal. The charity has a team of people in Romania and in Ukraine helping and supporting anyone who needs it.

We have so much tea and coffee left we plan to hold more afternoons during the next term and continue to raise money for Ukraine.

Olanna and Sonia

Year 6

St Godric’s Catholic Primary School, Durham

A big thank you to the Year 4 Mini Vinnies at St Godric’s, Durham, who took part in the SVP Forget-me-not Lenten Reconciliation Service. Their beautiful prayers for all refugees and asylum seekers were added to our field of forget-me-nots, with a special focus on the people from Ukraine.

St Theresa’s Catholic Primary School, Finchley, London

A warm welcome to the newly commissioned Mini Vinnies group from St Theresa’s Catholic Primary School in Finchley. It was lovely to be a part of this ceremony too, which saw a mix of children from different year groups come together to form their Mini Vinnies group. We also welcomed the parents of the Mini Vinnies to join the assembly to watch their children come forward to become part of the Vincentian family. What joy to hear that the children got to work soon after to turn their concern into action. A big thank you for the generous donation of £402.29 they made to the SVP Ukraine Disaster Fund.

St Matthew's RC Primary School, Jarrow

Our Young Vincentian Development Officer (YVDO), Michael, was welcomed by St Matthew's RC Primary School, Jarrow, on Thursday 31st March to commission the Mini Vinnies.  They had waited a long time for this ceremony due to COVID, but were finally able to meet and celebrate that day.  Michael led a lovely liturgy and told the children more about their mission as Mini Vinnies. The children and staff also welcomed some members of the Parish and SVP Society, who helped to hand out badges, prayer books and certificates. They were also proud to show their beautiful Mini Vinnies’ noticeboard and their forget-me-not flower as part of the SVP Forget-me-not Campaign. Welcome to the Vincentian family!

St Joseph’s, Castleford

St Joseph’s, Castleford welcomed the Mini Vinnies Manager on Friday 29^th April for a whole school assembly. This was the first assembly for many since the start of the pandemic, so it was a great opportunity to come together as a school and celebrate all the great things that had been going on. 24 Mini Vinnies were commissioned and the winner of the Mini Vinnies Christmas card Competition, Lyla Dyson, received her prize and certificate, alongside two other students who received high commended certificates for their entries. It was a lovely assembly in which the children learnt so much about the SVP and Mini Vinnies and even had a visit from Vinnie Bear, who had travelled up to Leeds just for the occasion.

Endsleigh Holy Child VC Academy, Kingston-upon-Hull

On 1^st April, the children and staff at Endsleigh Holy Child VC Academy held a reconciliation service and took part in the SVP Forget-me-not Campaign. The children wrote prayers for those who have had to leave their homes to move somewhere safer. What a stunning cross of forget-me-nots to ensure that nobody gets forgotten! Thank you!

St Laurence’s Catholic Primary School, Cambridge 

The Mini Vinnies at St Laurence’s organised the school pancake race this year, which was a great success. What amazing hats and aprons they sported for the event too! As well as Pancake Day fun, the Mini Vinnies also raised money to buy 50 Vinnie packs, containing cold weather essentials for those most in need. These were handed over to the Winter Comfort Centre, Cambridge. Wonderful examples of Mini Vinnies turning their concern into action. Great job, everyone!

St Edward’s Catholic Church, Windsor 

The Mini Vinnies at St Edward’s Catholic Church in Windsor put their faith into action by heading up two massive drives for items for Ukraine to help those most in need at this time. Here is the report from the Vincentian Coordinator in the parish:

"Mini Vinnies/ Youth SVP moto is See, Think & Do. After ‘seeing’ the atrocities unfold in Ukraine, we started ‘thinking’ about what could we ‘do’ to help? It was agreed that a small collection of essential items would be helpful, and we would seek these from within our parish community. St Edward's First School allowed us a drop off point for 7 days, a collection was coordinated at St Edward's Middle School as well as St Anthony’s School in Slough, all of which drew in an outstanding number of donations.

Our parish SVP group made a very substantial contribution, which we were very grateful for. We were also contacted by Dedworth Middle School. So many individuals within the local and wider community and our parish family have been so generous and supportive, confirming drop off points or asking if we could collect from them.

Our plea for items was shared on social media by so many people that when BBC Radio Berkshire found out we were collecting, they made contact with us asking to share our work on air.

A truckload of donations was packed up and delivered to a children's foundation in Ukraine".

Together the Mini Vinnies have stood in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, sharing love and support from the Vincentian family.

Well done to you all!

St Alban’s Catholic Primary School, Doncaster

We were so pleased to hear the news from St Alban’s, Doncaster about projects their Mini Vinnies had been involved in. Thank you to Olivia, Amelia, Drew and Oliver for their descriptions. These were just a couple of examples of the great works they’ve been doing. A big thank you to all the Mini Vinnies who also shared more in the school’s own newsletter.

Faith Garden

During Lent, we took this time to create an outdoor space where we could reflect and pray. The faith garden is where the Mini Vinnies planted different plants and flowers. We created the faith garden for all the children and teachers to use, it is at the top of our field, and we are helping to make this a wonderful place to be. In the faith garden there is a path that we have created, some beautiful plants, flowers and a stained-glass window board to make it look even more amazing!

Written by Olivia and Amelia

Almsgiving

As Mini Vinnies, we organised a sponsored run for all the children, teachers, and families to raise money for The Good Shepard Appeal. We ran the distance from Doncaster to Lourdes, on our Active Mile Track. We are delighted that we raised £1510 for the charity, and we had lots of fun doing it! We wore yellow to remind us of how important it is to look after our mental wellbeing. Running and spending time all together really did put big smiles on our faces! As we reflected during this time and focused on Almsgiving, we decided to have an Easter Egg Raffle to add to the money already raised. We raised a further £227, totalling our contribution to The Good Shepherd Appeal as £1737!

Written by Drew and Oliver

St Philip Neri, Dunston, Gateshead

At St Philip Neri Primary School in Dunston, Gateshead, the children made Lent jars for each class in school. The jars contained actions for the children to pick and complete each day during in Lent. They used the 3 categories of: Pray, Give and Fast. The children wrote messages for the pupils using these categories such as; 

• Pray an Our Father for your family
• Pray for the school community
• Fast from sweets
• Fast from complaining
• Give your time to someone
• Give someone a smile
• Donate a toy to charity

These were written on strips of purple paper and folded into the jars. The jars were distributed at the beginning of Lent. What a beautiful project to have completed! Well done, Mini Vinnies.

St. Anthony's Catholic Primary School, Leeds

Well done to the Mini Vinnies at St Anthony’s, Leeds, who secured an incredible number of donations for the Gianna Appeal (Catholic Care) at Christmas as well as donating to the SVP. The group were also involved in leading collective worship on the theme of peace due to the conflict in Ukraine, as well as raising money with their numerous fundraising ideas. Thank you for sharing your great news!

St Mary Magdalene's Primary School, Bexhill-on-Sea

A big thank you to Our Lady of the Rosary SVP Conference, Bexhill- on- Sea, who shared the wonderful work they have been doing at their local primary school. The children learnt a lot about the SVP during this assembly and created some beautiful handprints, on which they wrote their prayers. The originals will be given to people that the adult SVP work with to know that the children are thinking about them, and copies gifted to the school as a reminder of the kindness they’ve shown. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you to everyone who added their flower to the SVP field of forget-me-nots to pray for all refugees and asylum seekers across the world. Our thoughts and prayers also continue to go out to the people of Ukraine.