This article is from page 6 of the 2011-11-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
ST VINCENT de Paul has appealed to the people of Clare to donate whatever they can in the run-up to Christmas. Donations vary from cash, vouchers, hampers, clothes, toys and non-perishable goods.
Over the coming days, businesses across the county will receive letters from the organisation requesting donations to help cash-strapped families.
The president of St Vincent de Paul in Clare, Cathal Oakes, said that this year, teenagers’ clothing is particularly in demand.
“We are looking for all clothes, particularly teenagers’ clothes. We are finding it quite difficult to get them. Also, if people are dropping in foodstuffs, we prefer non-perishable,” said Cathal. “People are always very generous,” he said.
“Toys are very good but most of the time we prefer to give out vouchers. We give out vouchers all year round. With vouchers, people can buy what they want,” he added.
He said that while people have been very kind and give what they can to the organisation, the amount of goods received is down this year, in the face of increasing demand from those struggling to make ends meet.
“The exact figures on the general collections are down a little bit, but that’s to be expected. People are still amazing. We are still holding our own. The shop is our key source of funding. It is run very, very well,” he said.
In recent years, the organisation has expanded and teams have been set up across the county. Currently there are around 140 volunteers working in Clare, while 45 visitation teams liaise with those who require home visits. Teams also work in the hostel, the shop and work specifically on education.
“We have teams all over the county, including Kilrush, Killaloe, Newmarket, Shannon, Clarecastle and in east Clare. They all operate by fundraising locally, under the umbrella of Clare. It is hard to make money in east Clare and there are a lot of requests there, but the overall Clare area backs each one individually,” said Cathal.
He said that people are looking for assistance for a variety of reasons such as inability to pay bills, car maintenance or to buy clothes and food.
“There is a big increase in the number of people with debt on multiple levels, for example the ESB bill isn’t paid or the mortgage goes into arrears or the car insurance isn’t paid,” said Cathal.
The organisation is renting an extra room for December to store the goods that are donated in the run-up to Christmas. Those wishing to drop in items can do so at the St Vincent de Paul shop on Parnell Street, Ennis.