WHEN it comes to helping the poor and needy, students at St Augustine’s Parish Primary School, Currumbin Waters, are a generous lot.
Over the past six years the school’s Mini Vinnies group has worked diligently with the local Coolangatta-Tugun St Vincent de Paul Society conference to help local and overseas communities, and this year will be no different.
What is different this year is the overwhelming number of students volunteering to join the group.
St Augustine’s assistant principal for religious education Jane Marrison said Mini Vinnies was only available to students from Year 6.
“This year we have had an overwhelming number of students nominate for this group (36) (and) we have had to make two groups to involve all of these keen community helpers,” she said.
Ms Marrison said the voluntary group of students met every second week either for a meeting (in their lunch time) or a visit to Galleon Gardens RSL Retirement Village.
The Mini Vinnies also meet with the St Vincent De Paul Society adult members from the local conference.
Ms Marrison said the St Augustine’s Mini Vinnies began in 2005 and since then had been a successful group.
“At St A’s, we focus on teaching our students to be givers and not takers and parents are to be commended for having such thoughtful givers in Year 6,” she said.
“It is important that all these students are commended for nominating.
“We will be working on occasions with the whole group while splitting into two for other activities.”
Ms Marrison said St Augustine’s had programs running in lower classes that provided a grounding for students in social justice that the current Year 6 students had also participated in.
She said a Mini Vinnies presentation assembly was held on March 7 and they were joined by local Vincentians who welcomed the enthusiastic group as they embark on a year following in the footsteps of the founder of St Vincent de Paul Society Blessed Frederic Ozanam.
