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The school has the largest youth St.Vincent de Paul Society in the country, with over 100 members. There is a branch of the Society in every Year. The Society follows the ideals of Frederick Ozanam, where one gives one's time to visit the poor, the sick, and the lonely.
The SVP had always been strong within St Anselm's College during its sixty years history; however, it was only recently this year that we have seen its numbers rise to over 100, spanning Year 7 through to Year 13, and being named the biggest youth conference in the UK. For those who aren't aware, each group consists of a number of committed members who concentrate on their year's project, as well as helping in the school's major fund-raising events, such as the Rich Man Poor Man meal. Each year group meets weekly, and discusses past and future events. Throughout the school there are a large range of projects covered, including Save the Children and Amnesty International, along with more localized activities, such as visiting St Paul's Primary School and Feltree House Care Home. Each month, a representative from each year comes to a school meeting to discuss large-scale events, of which there are many.
Every school year, we have a large role to play in the many annual happenings, one of which is the Rich Man Poor Man meal. This meal is held in the main hall of St Anselm's every summer, in aid of the international charity, CAFOD, which uses the money to help some of the world's poorest countries develop means of supporting themselves more efficiently, e.g. through a village well scheme, or by providing reliable fishing equipment. Funds are constantly needed. During the meal, we represent the unfairness of the distribution of the world's resources and food. Tickets are sold throughout the weeks leading up to the meal, each costing £1. The ticket buys you a cup of soup and a piece of bread instead of your normal lunch, while the three winning-ticket holders are sat in front of the soup queue and fed a three course meal. The drastic difference in meals illustrates the difference between the third and developed worlds.
Another major project is the Senior Citizens' Party. We invite many senior residents (including those from Feltree and Nazareth House, who are also regularly visited by SVP members throughout the year) from all over the Wirral to a large Christmas party. The atmosphere is excellent and everyone has an enjoyable time. A meal is given as well as entertainment, including a game of bingo and carols. The entire event is funded by activities throughout the school in the previous year.
A lot of exciting internal developments took place in the SVP this year, as we gained an SP Director (Spiritual Director) in the form of Damien Doherty, a new Year 7 Conference, who focus on Save the Children and many large projects, such as a Parachute jump. The jump itself took place in the Summer, when a group of Sixth Formers and some teachers, under the stern control of Simon Evans Jones, took off for a day's intensive training followed by the jump itself.
Each person had managed to raise £100 in sponsorship. Sadly, not all went to plan as the weather was against us, and some of the Sixth formers who didn't get a chance to jump had to return the next weekend. The event was so large that other SVP councils also collected sponsors for Simon and his team. We informed other groups of this event via the District Council meeting, which is held each month, for representatives from all local SVP groups. It's a chance to become involved outside school and a good link for students to become involved with the SVP once they leave for university.
With every school year now active with an SVP group, the future is sure to be a good one for the Society in the school, building links with other conferences, and as it grows stronger, embarking on more adventurous projects. I'd like to thank all the members of the SVP throughout the school for their hard work and dedication throughout the past year, without which none of it would have been such a success.
Michael Fahey
SVP President
January 2000
Last year was a big year for the SVP, and one of the events which contributed to this was the founding of an SVP group in Year 7. It consisted of about 10 members, including myself as President, Ashley Razario as Vice, Adam Mclvor as Secretary and Jason Walsh as Treasurer. Throughout the year we came up with many ideas during our weekly meeting for raising money or strengthening public awareness of our project, Save the Children. Perhaps the most successful over the year, was the Teacher Car Wash, when we washed cars over a period of 3 weeks in winter! I have found the SVP to be a great charity, as there are many different practical ways to help others, which can also be fun. If you've been thinking of joining the SVP in your year, I would whole-heartedly recommend it.
Joe Thomas
January 2000
In this year's group we have been focusing on Amnesty International. They are a charitable organisation that campaign for human rights around the globe. Our first major project was entitled 'America - Land of the Free?'. We concentrated on a variety of different topics such as the death penalty, child abuse and women being sexually abused. Over the past year, we have done a range of fund-raising activities including talent shows, tuck shops and quizzes. Overall in the past year we have raised about £350, which has gone to Amnesty to help stop or limit the number of human rights violations around the globe.
Personally my favourite fund-raiser was the talent show. The whole of Year 8 had an afternoon off school, and a splendid time was had by all concerned. We also made a video highlighting the injustices of child soldiers, the death penalty and sexual abuse of women. Various campaigns have been completed by the Year 8 SVP including petition letters, which are sent to an appropriate authority whom we believe are contravening human rights.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Minutes Secretary, Paul Hayes and my Vice President, Paul Hazelhurst. Mrs Jones (French) has also been an excellent help to us throughout the year. Finally though, thanks should go to every member who made the year the huge success it was.
Edward Rainer
January 2000
During the Year 9 SVP, we focused on Sierra Leone. One of our many projects was to aid the preparation of the Africa-themed Masses held by the Edmund Rice family, the first of which was held in March. We had prepared a short presentation and a slide show, and despite the Sixth Form help we had, it went rather well! The masses brought the Edmund Rice family up to date with the latest news of the situation. I think we all enjoyed the chance to improve our public speaking and relation skills, as well as helping others at the same time. That was our major project; we have had various sub-projects such as writing letters and arranging display boards to keep the school constantly aware of the situation over in Sierra Leone. I'd like to thank Mrs Tuplin for her support and guidance throughout the year.
Ben Fedigan
January 2000
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