Local Food Bank Donations – Thank you!

During Advent, St Vincent’s partake in a school wide giving calendar. This has been the second year we have collected and donated different items each day for those in need.

The giving calendar is in conjunction with Caritas Westminster, and has been a great success for the second year running. Each day there is a specific item suggested for donation, these items are essentials for those in need, especially throughout the winter months. In giving, rather than receiving, we strive to live out the words of Pope Francis who teaches us that ‘charity, patience, and tenderness are very beautiful gifts. If you have them, you want to share them with others’.

We are so grateful for the enthusiasm and generosity of our school. With collection boxes overflowing for nearly every item, our school family truly rose to the occasion and followed the words of Pope Francis. Within our Catholic Social Teaching we learn the importance of Preferential Option for the Poor. In the Gospels, Jesus shows a preferential option for the poor by putting them first. He gives them special importance by thinking of their needs and helping them have their rightful place in the world. It is important that we advocate for those in need by listening to what they have to say and speaking up for them.

With copious donations during the month of Advent, we are so proud that as a school we are helping those in need and thinking of others as we prepared ourselves for the festive season. We will be giving the donations to a local food bank and continue to follow the Caritas Giving Calendar in the years to come. Thank you to every family who was able to donate, in little or large amounts any help that will be provided will make such a difference to others!

Each day the Pupil Chaplaincy Team collected the donations and sorted the items into their correct boxes. A very special thank you to each Pupil Chaplaincy Team member, their help every day meant we could keep track of the donations and ensure all items were stored safely! In addition to their help with the donations, the Pupil Chaplaincy Team also collected and sorted the Christmas cards for the whole school. They spent lots of time each morning ensuring that cards and items were in the correct place, with the school post box also overflowing each day this was a big task! Well done!