Mini Vinnies are quite literally mini versions of St Vincent de Pauls –an international Christian voluntary organisation dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing practical assistance to those in need.

Mini Vinnies meet to pray, discuss and support however they can to help make a difference in their communities. Mini Vinnies truly turn concern into action as they use the simple formula of ‘see, think, do’ to find people in need and help them, thus living out our school vision of ‘Jesus is at the heart of everything we do’. Over the course of the year, we strive to live out gospel values, loving and protecting our school and parish family, through genuine actions.

In response to the theme of Children’s mental health week 2022 (Loneliness), the Mini Vinnieswere worried that people in the parish would feel alone during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, so they made jubilee celebration bags to help them join in the celebrations. See page 4 of the attachment below.

Food bank service – Matthew 25:35-40 calls us to feed, give drink and clothe those who need it, for God tells us, when we serve others we also serve Him. As Mini Vinnies we took inspiration for this service collecting for the Trussell Trust during the harvest period. We were inundated with kind donations for our brothers and sisters in the family of God.

Christmas message – Our Mini Vinnies prayer highlights our vision to let God’s word be our word. We also recognise the joy which singing brings. During the Christmas period we visit local care homes, to spread the word of God but to also bring joy to those in our local community. We also produced a modern nativity to allow the school community to see what it would be like for Jesus to be born in today’s world, highlighting issues such as homelessness.

Over the course of the week, we set up a prayer space in the shelter to allow people to open their hearts to God, in the time of Lent. We had two main focusses; saying sorry and an empty plate. The saying sorry space was to allow people to say sorry to God for a mistake they may have made, moving it from their mind to make more space for God. The ‘sorriness’ could be passed into the stone and carried with Jesus on the cross. The empty plate activity was chosen to focus on CAFOD’s Family Fast day. The plate had two focusses; thanking God for their meals and their cooks. The other side of the plate was to allow a focus with those who were not as fortunate as us; that God would give us help to support others, but that we would help them too.

Our prayer space was a great success; many people came and accessed the space, making time for God. Everyone showed a great deal of respect to the prayer space and enjoyed using it. Over the next few weeks, we hope to open another prayer space, with a focus on worries and our friends.