Life for the Above Rubies Community

   When Jo Watts came to speak to the St. Joseph Vinnies about her work with the Above Rubies Community over in the Philippines she presented the students with the following photos so that they were able to see what life for the women and children in this community is like. The Vinnies were fascinated to see just how different life is for the people who live over there. It was also exciting to see the process the ladies go through in creating the beautiful jewellery that they make...

St. Joseph Vinnies Purchase Christmas Gifts for Mothers in Need

   After three weeks of making and selling lemonade, the St. Joseph Vinnies had the great pleasure of having Jo Watts come to school on Monday 2 December to talk to them about the work that is done as part of the Above Rubies Livelihood Project over in the Philippines. Above Rubies is a livelihood project assisting single mothers and widows through the paper bead jewellery that these women make and sell. The Vinnies were able to purchase for each of the Loaves and Fishes mothers, a paper bead bracelet made by these Filipino women. Jo kindly presented to the Vinnies photos of the Above Rubies Community that the Vinnies assisted along with a pasabulong each (gift of thanks from the Above Rubies women). These small charms will remind the Vinnies of the work they did in assisting not only mothers in the Nelson Community but also mothers over in the Philippines as well.

   Next week the Vinnies hope to make cards for the children of the women involved in Above Rubies which Jo will be able to take over to the Philippines with her when she visits early next year. 

Vinnies Raise Over $150 through selling lemonade at school

   After three weeks of making and selling good old-fashioned lemonade at school the St. Joseph Vinnies have made over $150 to purchase the Above Rubies paper bead jewelry for the mothers Loaves and Fishes look after as Christmas presents. A huge thank you to all those in the school community who got in and supported our efforts with this project.

   Next week we are going to be having local practice nurse, Jo Watts coming to talk to the Vinnies about the work she does over in the Philippines assisting with the Above Rubies livelihood project for single mothers and widows. We look forward to using the money we have raised to purchase our gifts. 

Lemonade Selling a Success!!!

   There’s an old saying which states, “When life hands you lemons, turn it into lemonade” and that’s exactly what the St. Joseph Vinnies got underway in doing on Monday 11 November to raise funds in order to purchase Christmas presents for the mothers of the families that Loaves and Fishes look after. The gifts the Vinnies have in mind is a piece of Above Rubies jewelry for each of the mothers made by single mothers and widows in the Philippines. The paper bead jewelry provides an income for these Filipino women offering them both hope and dignity.

   The middle school syndicate at St. Joseph’s school have also come to the party and through the disco they will be having will be collecting Christmas presents to be distributed to the children in these struggling families as well.

   The first day selling lemonade was a great success – in fact so successful we ran out of lemonade before reaching the end of the line of those cuing for a refreshing drink. We will be once again selling lemonade again next Monday (18 November) so definitely be in quick!  

Laundry Detergent Kits for Thursday Community

   As part of our outreach this year to assist the families of the Thursday Community which Loaves and Fishes look after, we made laundry detergent kits for the families. Although Loaves and Fishes provide meals for these families and there are food banks that also assist families in providing non-perishable food items, basic needs such as laundry detergent for washing clothes can sometimes be overlooked. The laundry detergent kits are one way that we are able to meet these needs.

   Pictured are only three of the many kits made up in order for each family to receive one.

Vinnies Work Towards a Fairer Deal as part of Social Justice Week

   During Term 3, the St. Joseph Vinnies have spent time focusing on the theme of Social Justice Week – Meaningful Work for the Young Worker. The term kicked off by looking at the skills and talents that the Vinnies have and how they can use these skills and talents to assist other people. The unit of work then took into account the Bill of Rights for Children leading into discussion of what we felt should be the rights of all workers. In learning about the work of Fair Trade we discovered that children’s rights let alone the rights of workers are not given the same consideration in other countries as what they are here. As two of the Vinnies wrote, “In 2005, the International Labour Organisation claimed that there were over150,000 children working in horrible conditions in the Ivory Coast of Africa. This is one of the things that the Fair Trade Company hopes to stop and we fully support it in any way we can.”

   One way that the St. Joseph Vinnies found of supporting the work of Fair Trade is by using Fair Trade Cocoa Powder and Cane Sugar to make chocolate biscuits. The chocolate biscuits that we created were able to be presented to Mary Sullivan from Loaves and Fishes along with homemade soap that the St. Joseph Vinnies had also made this term. Mary will distribute the soap and chocolate biscuits to the Thursday Community that comprises of struggling families that Loaves and Fishes supports. The St. Joseph Vinnies also entered their baking into the Fair Trade Big Fair Bake Competition in the hope that should we win the Fair Trade ingredients and kitchen equipment up for grabs this can be donated to Loaves and Fishes as well.

   As part of the St. Joseph Vinnies Social Justice Week Focus, John Marshall from Fair Trade was able to share with us further information about the work of Fair Trade and a Social Justice Week display of the Vinnies work was put up on display at school. 

Vinnies Present Talking Book Resource to Gill

 

 On Monday 1 July, Gill Clayton came to talk to us about being blind. Gill became blind as an adult due to health-related complications. She was able to share with us about overcoming this disability and the resources she has that help her to lead as ordinary a life as possible. Gill gratefully received the talking book resource that we were able to present to her.  Gill intends distributing the talking book resource to other people who are blind both in our local area and nationally. 

Vinnies Present Placemats to Red Cross

   One of the many talents the St. Joseph Vinnies have amongst the virtues of compassion and empathy for others is their ability to transform their ideas into artistic and creative masterpieces and that’s exactly what they achieved when creating beautiful placemats for Meals-on-wheels recipients.

   There to be presented with the placemats on the 17 June was Megan Riddell, Red Cross Coordinator. Megan was able to share with those who haven’t done Meals-on-Wheels before what this task entails. She also informed us about the various ways that Red Cross assists people in the community. Megan will ensure that our beautiful placemats will be distributed to people who meals-on-wheels assists.

Bottle Stuffing Party at Victory Community Centre

   On Saturday 11 May, a couple of the St. Joseph Vinnies participated in the Bottle Stuffing Party at Victory Community Centre which was part of Youth Week activities.

   The Bottle Stuffing Party was a great opportunity to transform waste into a Pizza Oven Base and Bench at Victory Garden. This is an initiative that has taken off in many countries around the world inspired by the Peace On Earthbench Movement (POEM). To find out more information about the fantastic initiative, check out http://www.earthbench.org.

Visit by Mary Sullivan from Loaves and Fishes

   On Monday 13 May the St. Joseph Vinnies were fortunate to have Mary Sullivan from Loaves and Fishes come to talk to them about the wonderful work that Loaves and Fishes does in providing meals for people in need. In more recent times Loaves and Fishes has extended its work further by also offering a homework programme for families who are struggling. Mary shared with us the story of how at one of the homework programme sessions, a brother was overheard encouraging his sister to eat up when it came to afternoon tea as when they went home there was no food in the house for them to eat. Sure enough when this was investigated further it was indeed true – the family simply didn’t have enough money once all the bills were paid to cover the cost of food as well.

   The St. Joseph Vinnies who participated in the Helping Hands for Families Project were able to do something constructive to assist these families by collecting non-perishable food items that we were able to present to Mary Sullivan to pass on.

   The Vinnies who participated in the Helping Hands for Families project did a variety of activities to help people in the local community to earn the non-perishable food items. Well done to these young people who made a positive difference through their efforts.

Wooden Crosses for the Nelson Hospice

   On Monday 15 April, the Silver Level Vinnies delivered to the Nelson Hospice some beautiful wooden crosses that they had painted. The wooden crosses were created by the Waimea MenzShed and were designed in such a way that they easily fit into the palm of your hand providing comfort for people as they are dying. The Silver Level Vinnies painted these crosses and were assisted by a few eager beavers who applied lavender oil on the back of them. Tags were then attached and the crosses delivered.

   The crosses will be in the reception area of the inpatient unit for people to take one to give to a patient. Should this project prove successful, the Waimea MenzShed have kindly offered us a continued supply of crosses and hearts we are able to deliver.

Helping Hands for Families Project

   The Helping Hands for Families Project got away to a flying start on Monday 8 April when the St Joseph Vinnies set to work turning shoeboxes into cars for their non-perishable food drive. The aim of this project is to assist as many people as the Vinnies are able over the next 5 weeks in return for a non-perishable food item that they are able to put into their shoebox car. These cars will then be returned to school on Monday 13 May along with the Vinnies sheets of who the Vinnies helped. The food will be presented to the Loaves and Fishes Organisation to distribute to families in need in the community. Loaves and Fishes is a community organisation that provides meals for people who are struggling. It has also extended its work to assist families in need by starting up the Thursday Community offering meals, a homework programme for their children and other support.

    If we have an overwhelming response to this project, we are hoping to also be able to share the food items that come in with the Nelson St. Vincent de Paul Centre to also distribute.

   Below are a couple of the fantastic cars that were made at our session. A week on from starting this project, already a number of the Vinnies are reporting back that they are well underway with loading up their cars. Well done everyone and keep up the great work! 

 

St Joseph Vinnies Dive Into 2013

   This year, we have begun the year by making paper flower posies for the residents of the Woods Resthome.

   One of the most prevalent forms of poverty that exists in New Zealand today is loneliness. This is alleviated by the teams of Vinnie volunteers from primary and secondary schools as well as Young Adult groups throughout the country that are keen and willing to carry out visitations to the elderly to share stories; nurture relationships; celebrate their lives and learn about their past achievements, joys and sorrows.

   The benefits to both the Elderly and the Vinnies are many…

·         Many elderly members of Rest Homes enjoy sharing their stories and memories with others especially the younger generation;

·         Bringing the Vinnies and the elderly together raises awareness of each other and the problems facing them both;

·         It provides the companionship for the Elderly clients of rest homes that they desperately seek;

·         It empowers Vinnies by celebrating their gifts and their ability to nurture new relationships with elderly friends.

On the 5 March, the St. Joseph Vinnies will be visiting The Woods Rest Home to present the residents with the paper flower posies they made for them.