St Vincent De Paul Dundalk makes annual Christmas appeal

It is difficult to ask people to think of others when so many are themselves experiencing great difficulties in their lives.

The awful pandemic that has been with us on and off since March, 2020 has now been followed by the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

Each in their own way has presented all of us with challenges that we never thought that we would encounter in our lifetimes.

Amid all the heartbreak caused by death, illness and loneliness, during the pandemic, and now the worry of families having to make the decision on whether to heat their homes or feed their children, comes the problem of dealing with Christmas.

Christmas, a time for family, a time for joy and reflection on the true meaning of this great feast will be difficult for many families.

Yet there are many amongst us who are determined that Christmas will be as normal as possible this year.

People like those in the organisation that I am again privileged to head in Dundalk, the St. Vincent de Paul Society who are determined that no family in need will go without this Christmas.

That no child will be deprived of waking on Christmas morning to experience the joy of seeing a toy at the bottom of their bed.

That no one living alone and feeling forgotten will not enjoy the comfort of a box of chocolates, or a glass of wine.

For all of those reasons the dedicated people who willingly bring so many skills to the work of the SVP in Dundalk have been working behind the scenes to ensure that we can bring as much help as possible this Christmas.

Since the pandemic invaded our lives in 2020 the Society realised that it would not be safe to distribute food parcels as in previous years, so we had to replace those parcels with a variety of vouchers, all of which have been purchased locally.

Schools, firms, office staff and individuals who in the past donated large amounts of food to our appeal have, in the last two years, generously helped us out with the donation of vouchers.

People like a wonderful mum, Ellis O'Hagan from Bellurgan who for the last three years raised almost €10,000 in her toy appeal in memory of her son, Danann Pearse who died in his sleep in 2018, aged just three weeks.

People like the staff of firms such as PayPal whose multinational workforce filled a large corner of their canteen with a spectacular array of food and toys, but who for the last few years have donated thousands in purchasing the Dundalk Chamber of Commerce 'shop local' vouchers thereby giving a major boost to local firms. 

Then there is the staff of one small firm who never seek any recognition for their generosity for making it a special time for one family in the locality by looking after all their Christmas needs - and I mean everything - to make it a Christmas to remember for one family.

They do so in a spirit of humility and generosity that is very humbling and inspiring to all working with the SVP in town.

To encounter this level of kindness and consideration for others, not just at Christmas but throughout the year is deeply gratifying for in total 80 volunteers work in the eleven Conferences in the Dundalk area, stretching from Omeath to Kilkerley to Dromiskin.

It has been a great source of inspiration to me over the last six years that I have worked as Area President to see the dedication of our volunteers who throughout the pandemic, and at great personal risk to their own health on many occasions, attended meetings, stood with collection boxes outside churches and distributed help to those in need.

People like Dundalk born Richie McEnteggart and his wife, Bridie who have given a lifetime of service to St. Malachy's Conference spending endless hours for more Christmases that they can remember working in cold warehouses packing food parcels.  

Richie and Bridie this year retired from active service with their Conference and while they never sought recognition deserve to be acknowledged for their loyalty, dedication and kindness.   

Thankfully the awful pandemic that took so many lives in our area spared SVP volunteers, and in thanksgiving for that, and in remembrance of former volunteers a special Mass was celebrated last week in Ozaman House in Jocelyn Street by Rev. Ryan Holovlasky, C.Ss.R., St. Joseph's, who himself worked as a volunteer in St. Gerard's Conference in town when he was studying for the priesthood.

The pandemic presented many physical challenges for us all in endeavouring to keep safe, but now we are facing a new crisis caused by the soaring cost of energy, food and the ordinary essentials of living.

We in SVP are seeing this almost every day, and unfortunately we anticipated that calls for our help which reached 1,627 in the north-east region in October, a 23% increase on the previous month and a 39% increase on October, 2021, will only continue to soar.

For some months now and because of the increase in the cost of energy and food we have realised that the level of support that we previously gave families was not adequate, and due to the influence of women serving in the very Conferences, we have had to almost double the level of support that we are giving families.

Our initial spend on vouchers for Christmas this year, supplied by local butchers and poultry shops which last year was €14,000 has been increased this year to €39,000 not just to meet the increased demand, but to ensure that no Christmas table is empty this year.

We could not provide this level of help without the generosity of many in Dundalk, firms, schools, individuals and organisations, for we now believe that our expenditure for this year will be in excess of €400,000 an increase of 25% on last year.

However, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the increased government help in social welfare payments and energy supports, and to recognise the help that energy companies are extending to many of the families that the SVP helps.

All of this extra support has lightened the burden, but there are many in our community who just cannot cope, and it is heartbreaking to hear on many of our visits to families and individuals the challenges caused by illness, unemployment, mental breakdown, addiction, and abandonment that people have to cope with.

We in the SVP do all we can, but we can only do so with the continued support of all of you, and for that may I offer my sincere thanks on behalf of all the people that we help.     

We are asking people to please donate whatever they can spare at either a local collection, online or over the phone to help people. 

Ways to donate:
Collection: at all Masses in Dundalk this weekend, December, 3rd and 4th 
Online: svp.ie and nominate your local area
By phone:  0818 176 176 (ROI) or 028 9075 0161 (NI) and nominate your local area
By post: to SVP, PO Box 1234, Dublin 1, cheques made payable to ‘Society of St. Vincent de Paul’ or direct to a regional office, addresses can be found on www.svp.ie.
Blue envelopes: Keep an eye out for special blue envelopes in local churches.