Our Wyong Vinnies Support Centre coordinator Jodie Davidson had the opportunity to speak to two local Catholic high schools - St Mary McKillop and St Peter’s – on the impact the Society NSW is able to
make in the community.
She wasn’t expecting to encounter someone who understood that impact first-hand.
“One of the students from St Peter’s donated a handmade blanket that he received when he and his mother were escaping domestic violence,” Jodie recalls.
“He said that ‘without Vinnies, his mother would have been homeless and he would have been placed in foster care,’ but with the help of Vinnies they were able to stay together.
“He had been given the blanket by a Vinnies volunteer when he was little which he saved all this time.
“He is now in Year 12, aged 18, in a leadership role at his school. He wanted the blanket to go to another young boy whose mother has fled domestic violence. He hoped, as someone who understands, it could keep someone else safe, warm, and bring a little comfort.
“We may only be part of someone’s story for a small chapter of time, yet the work we do truly does have an impact on the people we support.
“They don’t ever forget.”