End- of- year snippets of news!

Mini Vinnies join us at the SVP National Meeting

This year we welcomed around 50 children from 10 Mini Vinnie groups from across the country to the SVP National Meeting. The Mini Vinnies’ stream ran alongside the main conference but allowed time for members to come in and be led by the children on various activities. These included: writing prayers for a prayer tree, drawing portraits of each other on tablecloths, creating Vincentian bracelets, and lots more. One activity, which the children had great fun with, was the Design an SVP Shop Window Display activity. A huge congratulations to our Mini Vinnie from St Vincent's, Altrincham, whose design won the competition. This design will be recreated in a shop window by our SVP Retail team. A great day was had by all, celebrating all things Vincentian and giving the children ample opportunity to meet other people in the wider Society. The children were also delighted to see Vinnie Bear and be the first people to see our new SVP Vinnie Van, which will be helping to reach out to many more communities in more rural areas. A big thank you to all staff and helpers who accompanied the Mini Vinnies to the conference. It was wonderful to meet so many of you in person.

This is an image of the Mini Vinnies outside of the conference centre with the SVP CEO, Elizabeth Palmer
This is an image of the winning design

Welcome to the Vincentian family Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Wellingborough!

On Tuesday 26th March Warren Edwards, the Young Vincentians Development Officer for the Diocese of Northampton, led an Assembly to all of the children in KS2 and invited them to apply to become Mini Vinnies. On Tuesday 11th June, those chosen received their commissioning at Mass with parishioners and parents in attendance. Warren shared the importance of the work of the St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) and welcomed the children, who were presented with a certificate and a badge. They received a blessing from Father Paul, and all are excited about the projects that they are about to embark upon. The children are keen to live out the words of the Mini Vinnies' song: ‘we’re here to care…building a better world for us all. Making a difference big and small.’

This is a photo of the Mini Vinnies holding up their certificates.

St Wilfrid's, Northwich taking care of God's creation!

The Mini Vinnies at St Wilfrid’s, Northwich were very busy on ‘World Earth Day’ promoting the Catholic Social Teaching value ‘Care for Creation’. They decided that their beautiful Prayer Garden needed a little bit of love and attention so that it would be a beautiful place for the whole school community to spend some quiet time in prayer, amongst God’s wonderful creation. They weeded, tidied and planted new flowers to attract the bees and butterflies. The Mini Vinnies supported the Year Four children who were making their First Holy Communion by creating a thoughtful prayer card for them to keep. The Mini Vinnies heard that a local charity shop were struggling to provide socks for refugees in the area and so they decided to organise a sock collection in school. They made posters for each class and asked the Headteacher to reach out to parents in the weekly newsletter. Families were so generous and we were able to send snuggly socks to those in need.

These are images of the Mini Vinnies turning concern into action.

St Joseph's living out kindness in the community!

The Mini Vinnies from St Joseph, Poole have had a busy academic year. They took part in the Mini Vinnies' Festival in Poole! They loved meeting up with Mini Vinnies from other schools in the local area and taking part in many of the activities, which included sharing the incredible impact on different communities. They have also visited Bourne View, a local care home and took part in an Easter egg trail for the residents. The children did all the running, and then they played some floor games with the residents inside. The Mini Vinnies have also been supporting the local Food store at the Bourne Community Hub. The school community regularly donates items, and the children gather and deliver them to the store each Wednesday. For local residents, annual membership is £10 and each week-Wednesdays from 1230 to 1500 they are able to choose x10 items for £2.50. Items include staples like rice, pasta and tinned food. The Mini Vinnies have even created recipe cards and have designed a sandwich board to promote the Food store around school.

This is a picture of the Mini Vinnies from St Joseph's Poole
This is a group photo of the Mini Vinnies at St Joseph's in their branded tshirts