Kids wear pyjamas to school to help Vinnies ‘lift lid’

Sydney
28 July 2002

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Kids wear pyjamas to school to help Vinnies ‘lift lid’

Vinnies Reconnect is a special work of the St Vincent de Paul Society that offers opportunities, choices and support for young people and their families.

Reconnect (based in the southern Riverina town of Deniliquin, in the Wilcannia/Forbes diocese) assists people between the ages of 12 and 18 years who are having difficulties within their family or who have recently left home or are thinking about leaving home.

At the same time, they offer assistance to the parents or guardians.

Vinnies Reconnect hosted a ‘PJ and Brekkie Day’ at Deniliquin High School to help launch the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Winter Appeal and the Lifting the Lid program.

Volunteers from the local St Vincent de Paul Centre were on hand to collect the huge amount of blankets and clothing donated by students, families and teachers.

Students went to school dressed in their pyjamas for the occasion.

Vinnies Reconnect held a competition for the best-dressed person in PJs, which was won by Sophie Winter, Matthew Brown, Josh Larcombe and Cassie Saevalis.

The Student Representative Council(pictured) helped cook the breakfast that included bacon, toad in the hole (bread with egg cooked in the middle) and fairy bread.

Lifting the Lid is a project aimed at raising awareness of youth homelessness in rural areas.

Three professionally-run multi-media projects – Filming, Photography and Billboard – have been designed to involve youth from rural areas, to help raise the awareness of homelessness.

They provide a chance for the participants to get involved, be creative and learn new skills.

Vinnies Reconnect can help all year round with a wide variety of needs like food, accommodation, education, employment, crisis intervention, family reconciliation, counselling, financial advice, clothing, medical assistance, transport, developing strategies for problem solving, information and referral and conflict mediation.

The service also provides a range of presentations and workshops to community groups and schools as well as supporting many youth initiatives and community activities.

Trainee project worker Tenille Larcombe says: “Supporting the Winter Appeal is just one way that we feel as a community we can help address the issue of homelessness in rural areas.”

For inquiries, call Youth Reconnect on 03 5881 7411; to make a donation or to volunteer call the St Vincent de Paul Centre in Deniliquin, southern NSW, on 03 5881 2735. You can make a credit card donation to the Winter Appeal statewide by calling 13 18 12.