Turning Concern into Action, One Kind Act at a Time

Welcome to our Mini Vinnies News page, a place to celebrate the wonderful ways our children are making a difference in the world around them. From fundraising and community projects to acts of kindness and special events, every story highlights the compassion, teamwork and generosity of our Mini Vinnies in action. We hope these stories inspire you, make you smile, and perhaps even spark ideas for your own Mini Vinnies to help others in your school, parish and local community. Read on to discover the amazing impact our pupils are having both in school and beyond.

 

St Anne's Mini Vinnies Sharing the Joy of Reading

St Vincent’s Brixton hosted a vibrant Literacy Festival on Saturday 28th February in celebration of the National Year of Reading 2026. The free drop-in event welcomed children, young people and families for a day packed with fun activities and a shared love of reading.

Determined to make the day extra special, the staff at St Vincent’s hoped that every child would leave with a book to call their own. Thanks to the generosity of the Mini Vinnies from St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, that wish became a reality. Answering the call to action, the pupils donated a huge collection of brand-new books to be given as gifts to the children attending the festival.

A heartfelt thank you goes to staff members Ms Monerawela and Ms Denys for coordinating the project at the school and personally delivering the wonderful donation. Their support helped spread the joy of reading and ensured many young readers went home inspired.

Laleham Lea School: A Beautiful Space to Worship

This is an image of the stained glass window the children designed and their Vincentian Coordinators. There is also an image of the toy collection.

A huge well done to the Mini Vinnies at Laleham Lea School in Purley, who led a whole-school project to transform their Worship space. Working together, pupils created a beautiful stained-glass window to help make the area even more prayerful, reflective and uplifting for worship.

The children have also been busy supporting others in their wider community. During Advent, they organised a toy drive for the SVP, collecting generous donations to be given to help bring joy to children and families at Christmas.

These inspiring projects are wonderful examples of creativity, compassion and faith in action. Thank you to the Vincentian Coordinators for sharing this lovely news with us.

St Catherine's SVP Heart to Heart Campaign

This is an image of the children and their gift they took to the care home

To complete their Heart to Heart lent Campaign work, during Holy Week, the Mini Vinnies group from St Catherine’s Catholic Primary School made a special visit to the residents of St Catherine’s Care Home, bringing with them messages of hope, kindness, and compassion.

The children thoughtfully prepared “Bags of Joy” for each resident. Inside every bag was an LED tealight, symbolising light and hope, along with a handwritten affirmation or prayer created by one of the Mini Vinnies. These personal touches were warmly received and brought comfort and smiles to the residents.

As part of their visit, the group sang their favourite Lenten hymn, Brother, Sister, Let Me Serve You, filling the care home with a sense of peace and togetherness. The song beautifully reflected the spirit of service and love that inspired their visit.

The Mini Vinnies also took time to recognise the dedication of the care home staff by presenting them with a box of biscuits as a token of appreciation for all their hard work and care.

This meaningful visit was a wonderful example of the Mini Vinnies living out their mission during Holy Week, sharing kindness and making a positive difference in the lives of others.

The Mini Vinnies Coordinator at St Catherine's also shared the wonderful news that last year's Reverse Advent Calendar initiative in school surpassed the previous year, with a remarkable 227kg of donated food donated, providing the equivalent of 661 meals. What wonderful work these Mini Vinnies have been a part of!

Sacred Heart, Flitwick: A beautiful Lenten Display

This is a picture of the Lenten campaign display.

Congratulations to Sacred Heart, Flitwick Mini Vinnies, who took part in our SVP Heart to Heart Lent Campaign to lift people out of loneliness. A big thank you to the Vincentian Coordinator, Kath, who kindly shared this picture of their beautiful display.

A big thank you to the following schools that also took part in this year's Heart to Heart Lent Campaign: St Bede's, Sacriston, St Anthony's, Leeds, St Michael’s RC Primary, and St Bernadettes Primary School.

St Cuthbert’s Mini Vinnies Raise Easter Smiles for Berwick Foodbank

This is a photo of the Mini Vinnies with their Easter egg donations

St Cuthbert's Primary School Mini Vinnies in Berwick Upon Tweed decided to hold a cake sale this Lent to raise funds for the Berwick Foodbank.  The Mini Vinnies and staff baked lots of delicious treats ready to sell to the children in school.  A fabulous £100.25 was raised and the Mini Vinnies decided to buy chocolate Easter eggs to donate to the Foodbank this Easter - well done Mini Vinnies for 'turning your concern into action' this Lent!!!

What's your 400?

This is a image of a Mini Vinnie with her cake stand.

A huge well done to Maddie, one of our Mini Vinnies from Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Primary School in Leeds, who recently completed an incredible bake-sale challenge in support of the SVP. Maddie set herself the ambitious goal of baking 400 cakes and raising at least £400 for people in need.

Not only did she achieve her target, she surpassed it, baking an amazing 427 cakes and servings and raising a fantastic £745!

This wonderful achievement is a shining example of kindness, dedication and community spirit. Thank you, Maddie, for helping to make a difference to those most in need. And thank you to your mum for sharing this good news with us. Keep baking!