St Vincent de Paul
St. Vincent de Paul is a lay organisation open to everyone, which aims to help those in need through a ‘caring’ and ‘personal’ service. St. Vincent de Paul is the Patron of the society, not its founder. St. Vincent died in 1660, 173 years before Fredric Ozanam, a young French student, founded the society. Nevertheless, St. Vincent de Paul was chosen as Patron to this society because he devoted much of his life to helping the poor.
Since its conception the society has developed and flourished. Today there are over 100,000 conferences (individual St. Vincent de Paul societies) with 1 million members working in 112 countries.
St. Vincent de Paul, which is a non-profit making charity, has touched the hearts and minds of many. Not just its members but more importantly those in need, who are helped by the society.
Dominican College has a long history of charitable work. Just over 25 years ago, a group of staff and students set up a society of St Vincent de Paul in our school and it has gone from strength to strength ever since. This can be seen in the variety of activities that take place within the college each year and the commitment and enthusiasm shown by both staff and students.
1. Halloween Hamper
This fantastic Halloween Hamper was won by the very lucky Olivia McCloskey (10F) and contained lots of ghoulish goodies. The raffle raised over £160 and the proceeds were used to help purchase ‘extra special’ and Fairtrade items for the Christmas SVP hampers which hopefully brought a smile to many families during the festive period. Many thanks to everyone who bought tickets and showed their support.
2. Youth Conference 2009
On Friday 23rd October a group of eager new St Vincent de Paul recruits travelled to Balmoral Hotel in Belfast for the annual SVP Youth Conference. There were a large number of schools represented and 150 students attended in total. This was a wonderful opportunity for the group to meet with members from other schools and to share ideas.
The first activity of the day was an icebreaker exercise which encouraged the different schools to mix and work together. It was a hugely entertaining twenty minutes as the students were asked to do various activities including a trust exercise of falling backwards in the hope that their ‘buddy’ would catch them! Much hilarity ensued!
After the warm-up session the serious work began. There were a number of speakers and we were given information and advice on visiting nursing and care homes and getting involved with the SVP Twinning Project with Ghana. A number of our members are beginning visitations to Parkdean Nursing Home and so found the information invaluable. The SVP Northern Conference is twinned with the African country Ghana which means some of the money raised by the society will go towards development work within that country.
We then had the opportunity to hear from other schools and their hard work for St Vincent de Paul. Five schools gave presentations on what they had achieved during the year. It was a wonderful opportunity to hear about their success and to share ideas.
The St Vincent de Paul Youth Conference was a great experience and I would definitely recommend members to attend next year’s event.
3. Year 8 Spellathon
Dominican College’s annual Saint Vincent De Paul Spellathon took place this year on Monday 12th October. Each Year 8 girl was given 20 words to learn over the course of two weeks. With the chance to win one of three great prizes the Year 8 girls eagerly learnt their spellings and collected their sponsorship! We had a fantastic response and raised £1973 for St Vincent de Paul. Many thanks to Miss Chambers, Miss Dowds and the English Department for their continued support and commitment to this annual event. The prize for top individual fundraiser went to Sorcha Groocock (8A) who raised £176.21. The second prize was for Top Speller. A large number of the girls had achieved full marks and so the winner was chosen by ballot. The prize went to Amy Johnston (8B). The final prize was for the class that raised the most sponsorship; this went to 8D who collected £407.
4. The Saint Vincent de Paul Group visit Lough Derg
The work of the Year 13 SVP member can often be quite hectic, and not just during the Advent/Christmas season! As a result Mrs Niblock invited us to take part in a one-day retreat on Lough Derg on 5th May 2009. When we learnt that we would not be required to fast or go barefoot, few hesitated.
Located near the village of Pettigo, Co. Donegal, Lough Derg is both an important part of our Celtic heritage and a recognised place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages.
Here we recognised an opportunity to spend a day free from distractions, and perhaps to renew some aspects of our faith.
We were very aware that we were following a path that pilgrims had followed for thousands of years. Several of our parents had been on pilgrimage to Lough Derg.
We arrived on the island following a short boat trip. The day was bitterly cold and wet, yet our mood was upbeat. It was after all a day far from school!
Due to the severe weather our day was spent indoors. Throughout the morning we completed the Stations of the Cross and prayed the Rosary in the Basilica. Later we wrote prayers and petitions, a tradition as old as pilgrimage on the island. In the afternoon we celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation and concluded the day with a Mass involving all the pilgrims.
I will remember this day for its quietness and simplicity and perhaps even sacredness. If you are ever invited to the island don’t hesitate to make the journey.
By Fiona Taggart
5. Christmas Toy Appeal and Visit by Barnardo’s Staff
The appeal was launched in school with assemblies led by Nuala Ferris-Magennis who manages the Barnardo’s Leaving Care Project and John McDonald who is responsible for the St Vincent de Paul Family Appeal. They provided very informative talks on the work of the two charities and the great need within the community throughout the year and particularly during the festive season.
A huge thank you to all the staff and students of Dominican College for their overwhelming support of our Christmas appeal. The gifts, toys and hampers will allow many families and the young people in the Barnardo’s Care Project to have a much brighter Christmas.
The hampers were collected by senior members of the Holy Family Conference (shown above) and delivered to local families.
6. St Vincent de Paul Awards 2008 – 2009
The Senior St Vincent de Paul Award was presented jointly to Rachel Rossborough and Ursula Shannon for their outstanding commitment to the society in the previous academic year. Junior Awards were also given to Amy Loughrey, Bronagh Stewart and Kirstine Martin (10C) for their contribution to St Vincent de Paul.
Mrs C Niblock