The
Saint Peter's Conference of the Saint Vincent de Paul
Society was founded in 1946. The original meeting place was an outhouse behind
the Presbytery at 9 South Crescent. The Society is still going strong and is the
longest serving organisation within the parish. It aims are to help the poor locally
- whether parishioners or not - and elsewhere. It relies on donations to distribute
to the less fortunate. Members of the Society also act as passkeepers at Church
services.
The following report on Saint Peter's Conference was issued in July 2005.
During
2004, the Society in Ardrossan continued to assist people in need within the
local community as well as sending assistance to our twin conferences in India
and South Africa. In addition in conjunction with the Staff and pupils of St.
Andrew's Academy, Saltcoats, support payments to sponsor a number of Technical
and Vocational Students in India were also made. A special donation was also
sent to the Society's Appeal for the Darfur crisis in the Sudan.Locally, as well as direct assistance, help was given with furniture, food and fuel cards and visits were made to sick and housebound people in most local residential and nursing homes During the year, income was derived from Box Collections, Marathon Sponsorship, a Coffee Morning and Donations and totalled nearly £9000.
A considerable variety of assistance was given locally and amounted to £5000. Overseas support and assistance mentioned above was £2100 while two other conferences in the Diocese were helped to enable them to meet requests for assistance from their own communities.
In addition, money was made available to a number of local schools to meet emergency contingencies arising for pupils, a local specialist elderly centre was assisted with a contribution towards outings and a donation was made to assist with the cost of food for a Christmas meal provided by the Salvation Army for homeless and other people in the local Community. At the close of the year almost all the income had been distributed as described above and the balance carried forward was less than £100. Very little of this work could have been carried out without the continued and generous assistance of all those who helped the Conference with donations, prayers and other support. Those who assisted, share in the work of the Society and in Christ's name, bring help to those in need. On behalf of those we were able to assist, the Conference members thank you most sincerely and ask for your continued prayers and support in the future.