Livingtohelpthoseinneed
GREAT HONOUR AS NEW ‘LIVING’ SHOP IS OFFICIALLY OPENED BY GLOBAL SVP PRESIDENT BR RENATO DE OLIVEIRA
IT must have felt more like his native Brazil than a town in Ireland for President-general of the SVP Br Renato Lima de Oliveira, who was given a warm Drogheda welcome in more ways than one.
He is was here officially opening the new Vincent’s Living Shop on George’s Street, and the hot June sun smiled down on the sizeable crowd which had gathered for the occasion.
Br Renato was accompanied by the National President Kieran Stafford, and both were impressed by the rapid success of the new shop, which only moved location at the end of May.
To see the splendid, well-appointed space filled with the finest furniture, clothing and household items, you would never imagine this was the result of a mammoth community effort to get the doors open in just a matter of weeks.
But if there’s one thing St Vincent de Paul understands it’s responding to a challenge in the face of hardship, and that’s what they found themselves doing last March.
Given just two months notice to vacate the building in Narrow West Street where they previously ran their thriving shop for four years, the challenge was to relocate to the new premises without loss of revenue.
“It was an incredible honour to welcome Br Renato and Br. Kieran to see our new shop, something which gave great recognition to the work of the St Francis Conference,” said Michael Grogan, incoming Area President in Drogheda.
“The revenue from the Vincent’s shops in the Drogheda area has increased threefold over the past five years, and Living has been a substantial part of that growth, so it was imperative to get up and running again as soon as possible.”
The pride and ownership that the staff, shop managers and volunteers clearly take with their responsibilities - and in particular the way they share the ethos of SVP to all visitors - has seen the local shops expand and win numerous awards locally, nationally and internationally.
The shops are now the main source of revenue for visitation conferences, overtaking public donations in recent years.
“There is such a strong connection between the shops, the conferences and getting help to people in need,” explains Michael.
“Increased revenue means increased help to those who need it, which sadly isn’t available through shops in Brazil.”
Following a blessing from Monsignor Jim Carroll, Joe Sweeney ( Area President) was delighted to present his honoured guest with Sean Collin’s ‘Gateway to the Boyne’ book on the town, but sadly there wasn’t time to visit his namesake St Oliver Plunkett!
With the new store fully stocked and ready for business - even on the day of the visit, people were queuing to buy goods on display - the conference can get on with the invaluable work they carry out.
The Living concept was developed to help young and migrant families to acquire good condition household goods at a reasonable price.
“They need beds, wardrobes, household furniture, and clothing - all of which are basic for a standard of living - and yet there is also a forgotten layer of society who may feel they have no one to turn to,” explains Marita Moore, who is on the National Training Committee, and is involved in SVP’s Education Programme locally .
“We want to encourage those people to come to us, as you really don’t have to go without and we can’t help you if you don’t ask.”
As well as welcoming people from all over Ireland to the wonderful facility at Oznam Home in Mornington, the conferences also help to bridge the gap for those who may fall short on payments, such as funeral expenses, or medical bills.
All this relies on the support from the local community, which in Drogheda, is clearly a force to be reckoned with.