Vinnies Souptember

Vinnies is asking you to help the work we do in distributing $750,000 of food relief to those facing disadvantage across South Australia, by holding a soup event during the month of September.

The Facts

• Around 1 in 6 Australians live below the poverty line.
• More than 57,000 South Australians went without a meal in 2011 because of financial stress
• These Men, Women and Children live in your community

Over the last two years, food assistance provided by Vinnies across the state has risen by over 30%.  Your contribution can help us feed the thousands of South Australians who turn to us when they just can’t make ends meet, when their children are hungry and when all other hope seems lost.
Every little bit counts, and your donation could help in the following ways:

• $5 can feed one homeless person for a night a Fred’s Van
• $25 may help our volunteers put together a food parcel for someone living in a boarding house.
• $100 could provide a food voucher to help a struggling family make ends meet
• $500 can buy a month’s fruit and vegetables for one Fred’s Van
• $3000 would purchase enough groceries to feed homeless men for one month.

Who are Vinnies?

Operating since 1884, the St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) in South Australia has over 2500 members and volunteers.  They work together, supported by dedicated staff,  to relieve not only the immediate requirements of those in need, but to identify the deep and long-term causes leading to spiritual, financial and social hardship in our community, and provide a voice for the disadvantaged.
Each year Vinnies assists almost 100,000 South Australians in need.  This help is not limited to providing material goods, food and shelter, but extends to providing spiritual support, relief from loneliness and encouragement for people to help themselves. 

Get Involved!

Share some soup fun with friends!

And support the work of Vinnies at the same time!

Find out more here!

www.souptember.org.au

Volunteer Value

Volunteers Worth More to Australia Than Mining

Research by Dr Lisel O'Dwyer of Adelaide University has found that volunteering in Australia is now worth more than the mining industry and has valued it to be more than $200 billion a year. And this is a very conservative estimate based only on volunteer hours rated at $7.00 per hour.

 “More than 6.4 million people volunteer their time in Australia, which is double the number in 1995.

"Volunteers get a lot of satisfaction from helping others, enhancing the quality of their life and their health. The benefits to the recipients are obvious and there are also positive spin-offs for governments and workplaces."

People aged between 40-54 comprise the highest bracket of volunteers, with slightly more women (40 per cent) than men (37 per cent) giving their time to voluntary work.

While the economic value of volunteering to Australia is huge, Dr O'Dwyer says the true value of volunteering goes far beyond a dollar figure.

 “If a volunteer fire fighter saves the life of a child, what is that worth?

If environmental degradation is slowed because of millions of trees planted by volunteer conservationists, what is that worth?

And if an elderly person receives a hot meal five days a week, what is that worth?

Employed people are more likely to volunteer, as are couples with dependent children aged five to 17 years.

The number of hours donated by volunteers had risen 16 per cent since 2000, with 41 per cent of adult Australians volunteering 836 million hours with an average of 132 hours per year per volunteer.

WOW!

 http://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news55621.html

Online Safety

 

Cybersafety Resources for Parents

Online safety for children has become a serious issue.

It is almost impossible for parents to control or supervise the access to all sorts of online activities and tools.

What parents can do is to teach children to know what kinds of behaviour and activities online are appropriate, useful and ‘good’.

This website could be a useful source of information for parents.

We encourage parents to have a serious look at this resource.

A Government sponsored Website also has many resources.
It is called eSafety

Young Children At Mass

For Your Marriage

We came across this website, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

A very brief look showed some interesting topics, including:

How To Take Young Children To Mass.

Let's know what you think.

And here is another Link