Society - September 2010

Society Vinnies Centres change in senior management After twelve years at the St Vincent de Paul Society, including five as Vinnies Centres State Manager, Tony Thornton has announced his retirement. Tony has made a significant contribution to the Society and has achieved much over this time, including the opening of new stores and refurbishing of many stores. Tony has brought a high degree of professionalism

to the management of Vinnies Centres across Victoria. Garry McBride has been appointed as the new State Manager, Vinnies Centres, bringing significant experience and passion for the challenges that lie ahead. Involved as a member of the State Centres’ Board of Management for some years and appointed as Chairman in April 2010, Garry was a Consultant

A gift for the future support the future work of the Society with If you are interested in exploring the idea the many disadvantaged people with whom of a gift in your will to the St Vincent de we work every day. Bequests Paul Society, or simply need Change a life through general information on wills left for the general purposes of a gift in your will. and bequests and related the St Vincent de Paul Society areas, we have a number of are invested in the St Vincent publications available free of de Paul Victoria Endowment charge from the Marketing Fund and used to fund our and Fundraising Department charitable work. However, by phoning 03 9895 5800. should you wish to support a These booklets cover the particular conference, area of areas of: work, program or facility then • wills and bequests this should be specified in your • the role of executor of a will, and will. Our Bequest Co-ordinator would be • powers of attorney and guardianship happy to provide you with information Looking after your loved ones and those who on the many programs and services depend upon you is the primary consideration provided by the Society and VincentCare when drawing up a will, but it may be that Victoria. Please phone 03 9895 5800 for it is possible to also include a gift which will n more information. Bequest information call 03 9895 5800

Tony Thornton

Garry McBride

to the National Centres Committee (part-time basis) and was instrumental in facilitating the sharing of ideas and the development of new strategies across n the Society.

Our funding wish list

Ozanam Community Centre Based in North Melbourne, the Ozanam Community Centre is a drop-in service providing support to marginalised men and women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The Centre offers breakfast and lunchtime meals, warm clothing, showers and laundry Image: istock.com facilities, housing information and referral, medical, dental and optical services, access to alcohol and drug clinicians along with a suite of educational and recreational programs. The Centre’s meal service acts as a means to engage clients with these additional services and, in the past three years, the average number of meals served has more than doubled from 80 meals per day to 180. For some of the most marginalised and isolated clients who are unable to

access traditional treatment services, the Centre caters to their basic needs and offers a continued sense of community. The Centre currently provides over 60,000 meals per year and our aim is to expand the service to include evening and/ or weekend meals. To increase our offer to include one evening meal per week would cost approximately $100,000 per year.

Ozanam House Ozanam House began as a night shelter for homeless men in 1953, as part of the special works of the St Vincent de Paul Society. It has grown to become a 60 bed Crisis Supported Accommodation Service providing short-term, hostel-style accommodation to men over 18 years of age with multiple and complex support needs. The men are charged just $20 per night for all meals and accommodation and all residents are provided with case-management to help address issues impacting on their housing status, assist them into appropriate accommodation and to link them into specific support services according to need.

The service currently requires funding for the following: • Industrial kitchen equipment (our equipment is currently 20 years old and in urgent need of replacement). Replacement value is approximately $60,000. • Swags to distribute to clients who are unable to find accommodation – 120 swags are required at $68 each. • Recreational equipment such as musical instruments and new pool cues – $1,000 • Outdoor furniture – $1000 • Gym equipment – $5,000 • Acupuncture Program. This proves to be a highly effective treatment for medical ailments, detoxification and stress relief. However to continue the service we need funding of n approximately $15,000 per year.

Formerly known as St Vincent de Paul Aged Care & Community Services, the Society’s arm dealing with aged care, community and disability services now trades under the name “VincentCare Victoria”. VincentCare’s responsibility is: • to provide quality services for the homeless, the aged, people with a disability, and men and women struggling with complex needs including substance abuse and mental health needs; • to advocate for vulnerable and disadvantaged people, respect their dignity and rights and understand their needs so as to provide them with support and encouragement and enable greater self dependence. n

FaHCSIA grant for volunteer training gratefully received The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services & Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), has recently granted over $150,000 to the St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria for training and equipment for volunteers. First Aid and Information Technology training will be rolled out for a number of

conference and Vinnies Centres volunteers across the state and it is hoped that additional funding will be secured to ensure that within the next 18 months, all volunteers have access to appropriate training. This is an exciting opportunity for the Society’s 7,000 volunteers and demonstrates the Government’s

commitment to supporting the invaluable work of people who freely give their time to help others. Carol Taylor, General Manager of Fundraising, Marketing and Development said “we were delighted to receive this funding in recognition of the wonderful work carried out by our volunteers.” n

A Newsletter for Supporters of the st vincent de paul society in Victoria SEPTEMBER 2010

Winter Appeal 2010 No one should have to know this No one should have to know how to keep their whole family warm in winter when there’s simply not enough money to pay the energy bills. Yet thousands do. This winter, the St Vincent de Paul Society invited members, volunteers, corporate partners and the public to help the thousands of people who have had to learn how to survive terrible challenges that most of us never have to face, by giving to the 2010 Winter Appeal. Vinnies believes no one should know

How your gift will help $ 50 will provide warm blankets for homeless people living rough on the streets n $80 will buy essential groceries for a parent and a child for a week n $100 will provide emergency accommodation for a woman and child escaping domestic violence n $200 will provide basic supplies and medications to an elderly couple living on their own n $1,000 will prevent a family from being evicted onto the streets n

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If you can help with any of these items or would like to hear about corporate sponsorship opportunities with the St Vincent de Paul Society, please call Claire Nettley on 03 9895 5800.

Society

Much of the Society’s work is carried out through its voluntary members who visit people in their own homes and provide material assistance, support and friendship to people in need. The Society relies on the generosity of the public and the dedication of its volunteers to carry out its good works. St Vincent de Paul Society is the parent company of VincentCare Victoria and has representation on their board of directors. n

This arm of the Society was established in 2003 to provide professional services in the complex areas of: aged care, homelessness, outreach services, domestic violence support, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, health services and supported-employment options. The majority of programs receive some government funding, however donations are always needed to provide services over and above the government funded level. n

Vinnies Centres are the retail arm of the St Vincent de Paul Society and are the major source of income for the Society’s good works. Vinnies Centres provide furniture, clothing and household goods to families in need. The remainder of donated goods are sold and the funds from sales are used to help fund the work of the Society. There are over 100 Vinnies Centres trading in Victoria. n

Contact: 43 Prospect St, Box Hill, Victoria, 3128. Phone: (03) 9895 5800 Fax: (03) 9895 5850 E-mail: info@svdp.vincentcare.org.au

For credit card donations visit vinnies.org.au or call 131812

* There are other giving and partnership opportunities in this edition of Society. If you can help in other ways or donations in kind, please contact our fundraising department on 03 9895 5800. n

a life without hope and that together, we can help the thousands that turn to us for a hand up each year. The Vinnies Winter Appeal 2010 has seen donations totalling over $816,000. This is an increase from last year, which will help the Society meet the increasing demand from the people that we provide assistance to. Thank you to our supporters for your continued commitment to our mission to provide help to all those who seek it from us. To donate call 13 18 12 or visit vinnies.org.au. n

Vinnies donation bins One of the easiest ways that organisations can help Vinnies is by putting Vinnies donation bins on their premises. The donation bins are regularly cleared and are a great way for your staff to help on a regular basis, while providing a convenient service to them. All goods that are donated through the bins are collected regularly and carefully sorted at the Vinnies Centres warehouse in Altona North. Items such as blankets and warm coats are given directly to our homeless shelters for distribution to clients who gratefully receive these items – particularly in the cold winter months. Members and volunteers providing assistance through our home visitation work are also able to request goods to distribute to families they know are in need. Good quality products that aren’t required for direct distribution to people in need at that time are sold in our Vinnies

Centres, which further funds our welfare work in the local community. If you are interested in finding out more about having a Vinnies donation bin on your premises please call Claire Nettley on 03 9895 5800. n

Society

Society Dear friends of the Society

Victorian State President Tony Tome

This is my first letter to you following my election as State President of the Society in Victoria. Firstly, I wish to pay tribute to my predecessor Jim Grealish for the great contribution he has made to the Society, for his tireless work over many years, but especially during his period as Treasurer and following that his period as State President from 2006-2010. Jim has been a member of the Society for many years and implemented a number of necessary reforms during his stewardship which has put the Society in good shape going forward. We are indeed indebted to him. I have been involved with the Society since 2000 when I joined the Donvale Conference. The following year I became the Ringwood Regional President and progressed in 2004 to Eastern Central Council President. I was Chairman of both the Vinnies Centres State Board of Management and the Fundraising, PR and Marketing Committee. Prior to my appointment as State President, I was Deputy State President to Jim Grealish for four years. In addition to these roles, I have also been a member of the Finance Committee since 2001 and was involved in the Society’s contribution to World Youth Day in 2008 and a member of the Bushfires Taskforce. My vision for the Society includes developing a model of governance that

Melbourne’s first Vinnies CEO Sleepout hit the mark with 116 CEOs from across Victoria and Tasmania sleeping out on Thursday 17 June 2010 at Etihad Stadium.

is effective in achieving good outcomes that align with the mission and values of the Society. I have identified key issues and opportunities in Vinnies Centres, Governance, Membership, Youth, Finance, Fundraising and PR, Mental Health, Social Justice and Technology to embrace. However there are some very important elements from the old days that we must keep and nurture and will continue to keep and nurture. They are the ethos and mission of the Society, our magnificent volunteers and our desire to continue to improve and help the disadvantaged. We are facing a critical time for the Society with unprecedented demand for our services which is up 20% on last year. The work of the Society would not be possible without the generosity of our donors and supporters. Unfortunately the demands made on our services mean that we have to make more calls on their generosity than we would like, but the supportive responses we receive give us the encouragement to continue the Society’s great work to alleviate the suffering of the poor, the marginalised, the underprivileged, the homeless, the destitute, the unemployed, the lonely and anyone who is in need of a friendly presence.

All said and done it was a remarkable experience. I’ve been asked the question “would you do it again?” – the answer is yes, but not tomorrow! Thank you for your support for this event which goes to the heart of what we do. Brian Dalton Chief Executive Officer, St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria

In Victoria, CEOs and their supporters raised over $413,000 to help Vinnies homeless services. Held simultaneously in capital cities across Australia, the Vinnies CEO Sleepout has raised over $2.9 million nationally. With 105,000 people sleeping rough each night in Australia this event was also highly successful in raising awareness about the issue of homelessness,. Melbourne’s weather for the evening went to an overnight low of 7.8ºC, giving our CEOs a taste of being homeless. Our CEOs rugged up and slept rough armed only with a sleeping bag, pillow and cardboard to fight off the coldness from Etihad’s concrete floor and the icy wind coming off the water. Thank you to all CEOs for participating in the inaugural national Vinnies CEO Sleepout and to Melbourne’s ambassador Jane Nathan who worked tirelessly to help us launch this project.

With best wishes Tony Tome State President

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St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria Inc. revealed that Victorian households annual energy costs have typically increased by more than $300 over the past two years, in our report ‘Victorian Energy Prices, July 2008 – July 2010’ released recently. As a respected voice on social justice issues, the Society undertakes to fight for those who are most burdened by consumer issues such as rising energy costs. The Victorian Energy Prices project involved the development of a tariff-

tracking tool that allows consumers to undertake ongoing energy price monitoring. The analysis shows high increases in energy costs from July 2008 to July 2010 and highlights where and how households can lower their energy bills as well as potentially detrimental contract conditions. High consumption households can save from $350 to as much as $550 per annum by switching to the best market offer, depending on their network area. Even low consumption households can save

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Research voices concerns for those hardest hit by energy costs

up to $300 per annum depending on their current arrangement. The full report and tariff-tracking tools are available at vinnies.org.au. n

The Vinnies CEO Sleepout is a national annual event. We urge you to rise to the challenge of homelessness and sleepout for awareness of this issue or to encourage your CEO to do so. The next Vinnies CEO Sleepout will take place on Thursday 16th June 2011. Registrations will open at a later date at ceosleepout.org.au. Sponsorship and partnership opportunities will be available.

While the financial result from last night’s Sleepout is outstanding, the biggest winner will be derived from the awareness of issues associated with homelessness in our community that the event generated. All the participating CEOs will take back to their workplaces some key learning from the event, which I am sure, will lead to new and exciting partnership opportunities for services and in turn will better outcomes for our clients. John Blewonski Chief Executive Officer, VincentCare Victoria

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Putting some thought into the issue of homelessness Following an introduction by MC John Blackman, the issues of homelessness were discussed in a think-tank session which provided fresh insights into homelessness by asking leaders to address the issue as if it were part of their business portfolio. Jane Nathan, the

Victorian Ambassador for the Vinnies CEO Sleepout said that as well as raising awareness and important funding to help Vinnies homeless services across Australia, the event also provided an opportunity to tap into the State’s brightest business minds. n

2010 Top Fundraisers Congratulations and thank you to all our CEOs for rising to the challenge, sleeping out and raising awareness to the issues of homelessness in Victoria. anny Wallis – $ 21,000 D David Elia – $ 18,000 n Lachlan Armstrong – $ 17,750 n Wayne Dunne – $ 15,546 n n

Red Cliffs Independent Living Units Red Cliffs, Mildura, in North Western Victoria is a severely disadvantaged area with an ageing population. With a lack of affordable housing and insufficient public housing, many elderly locals are homeless. Due to cost and insecurity of tenure, rental accommodation is problematic for older people in this area. Meanwhile there are over 230 people on the waiting list for public housing with wait times for one and two bedroom units appropriate for older people currently exceeding 10 years. The St Vincent de Paul Society is helping this situation by building nine new Independent Living Units in Red Cliffs. The three two-bedroom and six one-bedroom units include private yards, communal gardens and car parks and will house up to 12 elderly tenants who are severely disadvantaged and would otherwise be homeless. Tenants will be supported by local St Vincent de Paul members and volunteers who will keep them connected to the local community and help them with daily activities. Building on this project is moving quickly with all the unit frames erected. Fundraising is also proceeding well with the local community and a number of

charitable trusts, foundations and service groups getting behind the project. We are still looking for project funding and also for appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers and ovens for the units. If you can assist please contact Lucy Menting on 03 9895 5800. n

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Melbourne’s first Vinnies CEO Sleepout makes its mark

President’s message