SVP urges you to Reach Out this Christmas

The Cavan town branch of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is urging people to dig deep for the less fortunate in the community during their 2009 Christmas appeal. It has been inundated with applications for help - three times more than normal - and members are carrying out knocking on doors looking for their contributions. This year the society has spent some €60,000 to date locally. Ray Fallon from the Cavan town branch said: "This is a tough winter for many people. Some problems are big and outside our scope and we are directing people to MABS, who help people to plan the financial position." Senior members of the community have always been a concern during the cold weather and St. V. de P. takes fuel to them. Those who have lost their jobs are dreading the Christmas and even those on social welfare will be without their Christmas bonus. Single parent families are particularly hard hit, he added. In some areas, two in every three calls are coming from families with children, and more than one in four calls are from people who never had to use St. V. de P. services before. "The loss of the bonus payment in social welfare will also have an effect on a lot of families. Many of them used that bonus to purchase Christmas presents and other items," he added. The Society were aware that time are tough but ever little bit helps, he stated. "We will be calling on every house in the town and surrounding areas this week and your support would be appreciated." Flooding The society's night shelter and furniture store have been hit by the recent flooding. Society members will be out and about on their annual collection during the next two weeks and as always are confident that people will be as generous as ever, said Mr Fallon. He pointed out that the nationwide annual appeal SVP Week is currently under way and concludes on Sunday, December 13, with a national church gate collection. "Naturally at this time of year we receive a large numbers of calls for help and the added pressure at Christmas increases this significantly. People can help us complete Christmas for these people in need, by giving to the St. Vincent de Paul Society's Christmas Appeal." Donations they receive will enable them to continue providing material, financial and moral assistance to people in disadvantage. "We all know that it has been a difficult year financially for some people due to the economic downturn, but Christmas is a time when everyone should be able to celebrate and the appeal is aimed at providing that little bit of help when it's needed the most." Imagine, for one moment, if you took the merry out of Christmas. What if there was no Christmas dinner to share with your family? Not a single gift to light up the faces of excited children on Christmas morning... Or what if you didn't even know where you'd be sleeping on Christmas eve? The St. Vincent de Paul Society in Cavan town is gearing up for an avalanche of calls for assistance in the coming days. With many people unable to cope with the pressure of basic everyday living, particularly at this time of year, it is up to all of us to give what we can, Mr. Fallon added. "Assistance provided through the appeal is a gesture of goodwill and that help adds a little cheer to what may normally be a difficult time of the year for some people in the community." The has SVP embarked on an intense advertising campaign in recent weeks, and the theme is Reaching Out. The advertisement reflects on how it is possible to help the people who are most in need in the community through a donation to the SVP. In the lead-up to Christmas, the SVP are asking the public to reach out to people in need all around the county and make a donation, he concluded.