Members' Update Summer 26 (2)

UPDATE MEMBERS’ SUMMER

Society of St Vincent de Paul (Scotland)

The Society’s Mission

Our Vision

SSVP Scotland is a Christ-centred charity whose aim is to become recognised as the leading, lay Catholic charity operating Scotland-wide by actively seeking out and bringing hope, aid and assistance to those in our communities experiencing poverty in all its forms.

Christ-Led, Faith Driven

We will respond based on our core belief in the sanctity of human life, the inherent dignity of the human person, and by putting the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.

Accountability

We will hold ourselves and one another responsible for taking good care of resources under our stewardship made possible by the generosity of others.

our values

Justice

Generous

We will be selfless in giving of our time, talents, energy and commitment in the service of people living with and facing adversity in all its diverse forms

Responsive

We will demonstrate agility and empathy, responding with purpose and in a non-judgmental way at all times to people whom we serve in hope.

Kindness

We will act as a strong advocate against injustice, helping tackle the structural inequalities that cause poverty in all its forms, and in pursuit of our goal: a more just and compassionate society 3

We will show compassion, respect and sensitivity for people benefiting from our support, honouring their dignity and worth.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Patricia F. McCartney, National President SSVP Scotland

Welcome to this Member Update for Summer 2026. I hope it finds you all in good health Although no decision has been taken to discontinue ‘The Ozanam News’, for the time being we are issuing ‘Members’ Updates’, the last one being issued in Spring 2026. This is due to the resources needed to coordinate, publish and distribute copies of a newsletter in the previous format The trustees, members of the national council, the national office and members represented on the different working groups, are reviewing many of our current practices, including our newsletter and communications. This is to ensure that the Society meets the needs of our members, benefactors and our beneficiaries not only now but in the future. This is a very important piece of work and to do it properly will take time Please bear with us during this process. Until then Members’ Updates will continue to be one of the main ways of communicating with you. In the Spring edition members were informed of the different working groups being set up and invited to help in shaping the future of the Society. I would like to take the opportunity to thank those of you who answered that invite and have joined the various working groups, the progress of which are included in this Summer Update. If on reading more about these you are now interested in joining one of them, then please get in touch via membersvoice@ssvpscotlandcom as it is never too late to become involved.

Finally, our Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday 5th September 2026 in the Stirling Court Hotel. Further information on this, including booking information, will be sent out towards the end of June. Meantime please hold the date and I look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

Serving in hope,

SPIRITUAL REFLECTION

Make haste slowly

Spring and summer bring many signs of wonder, when nature shakes off the blandness of winter and begins to sprinkle colour across our gardens

The Church also shakes off the darkness of Lent and bursts from the tomb with all the hope and joy Christ's resurrection offers What joy the apostles must have felt when Jesus was with them again......a sense of security that he was there to keep them right, to continue to teach them

Then comes the body blow! Jesus isn't staying. He's going back to His Father, but He will send them the Spirit, the "helper".

The Church celebrates an octave between Ascension and Pentecost, but I wonder how long it actually was for the apostles, and what was going on in their minds and hearts at that time

The octave between Ascension and Pentecost is a special time for Daughters of Charity. It's a time when we remember our co-founder, St Louise De Marillac's "lumiere", her enlightenment.

As a young woman, Louise had promised God she would take vows and become a nun. Her health prevented this and so Louise married and had a son. Not long into the marriage her husband became ill. As a devoted wife and mother, Louise cared for her husband and, as all mother's do, worried about her son!

But, she was troubled about the promise she made to God to take vows and become a nun.

At Pentecost 1623, while at Mass in her local parish, St Nicholas De Champs, Paris, Louise had a deep spiritual experience, her "lumiere"

God assured her she would one day be widowed and be in a position to take vows in a community where she would be with those who are poor. There would be lots of coming and going.

This confused Louise as in the 17th century, all religious communities were cloistered

Louise also had a vision of who God had chosen as her spiritual director. She later met him.... Vincent De Paul!

This was such a spiritual experience for Louise that she wrote it down on paper and carried it with her the rest of her life.

It took ten years for this "lumiere" to come to fruition. It was not until 1633 that Louise and Vincent gathered together some of the village girls who were helping them serve those who are poor These became the " Little Company", the Daughters of Charity.

We often hear the saying, " Some things are worth waiting for" St Vincent said, "Make haste slowly". He didn't mean, 'put things off'. He meant, allow time to pray about things and allow God to show what He wants you to do.

As Vincentians, we are " doers". It's important in our doing, our service, to make haste slowly by simply listening to God as He speaks to us through those we serve and visit, because, as St Vincent reminds us, it is Christ Himself we meet in those we serve.

What a joy! What a grace!

And St Louise.....well her patience, waiting the years still bears fruit 393 years later with 10, 959 Daughters of Charity worldwide serving in 98 countries. St Vincent was very clear that neither he nor Louise were responsible for the Daughters of Charity, only God was.

May the Holy Spirit fill your heart anew this Pentecost

Blessings

Sr Maria Robb DC, SSVP

Director

WHAT’S NEW? WELCOMING NEW FACES

“Grant the Society the grace of continual growth and renewal and we pray that many others will be drawn to seek membership of this Society and share in its work.”

As we continue to grow and renew, we are delighted to welcome new conferences to our SSVP Scotland family

New Conferences

We are delighted to welcome two new, revived conferences, Holy Cross in Crosshilll, part of Glasgow Archdiocese and St Mary’s and St Paul’s in Hamilton, part of Motherwell Diocese May God bless them in their endeavours

WHAT’S NEW? PRIORITIES FOR 26/27

Trustees approve the Society’s priorities for the coming year

Following from our priorities in 2025/2026 of Recruitment, Youth Development and Communications, the Trustees and Steering Committee have agreed the new areas of priority for 2026/2027.

Membership Revitalisation

This vital area is our number one priority this year. On the whole, conference memberships are dwindling. But changing this is in all of our gifts, and is in the interests of those we serve as well as ourselves. Seeds of hope are springing up in different areas By combining our efforts, we can drive this forward. Find our more about joining our membership working group on page 13

Communications

Work in the essential area of communications began last year but there is still much to be done. Our focus this year is to revitalise the website, and implement a robust communication strategy for members, beneficiaries and supporters Interested in knowing more? Why not join the communications working group (pg 14)

PRIORITIES FOR 26/27

Youth Development

Our future, our children! The youth focus for 26/27 will be to continue growth in our Mini Vinnies membership, for those in primary schools, while also working to increase the number of secondary Senior Vinnies’ schools

Charity Resilience

To ensure ongoing resilience, and secure the future of of our charity, we will focus in three areas:

Operational resilience: Including safeguarding/PVG clarity across dioceses and charity governance updates

Financial resilience: Including promoting increased uptake of Gift Aid, launching Digital Giving, and addressing banking issues experienced by all

Future resilience: Including changes to the relief book to enable greater understanding of the opportunities to serve more beneficiairies.

WHAT’S NEW? RELIEF BOOK CHANGES

Understanding what we do and what else we could offer

Our relief books are essential records, capturing the help and assistance provided to our beneficiaries

Historically we have recorded a basic summary of help provided. In the new edition of our relief book, we aim to capture more specific, detailed information about the help we provide, and about those we help.

Why the Change?

Recording more detailed information will enable the Society to:

Ensure it is providing support where is it most needed

Be proactive in developing new forms of help

The new relief book will be available both as a digital and paper version. Completing it digitally will enable the totals and summary of the help you provide to be automatically completed each month, along with the annual summary required for your audit.

We will initially launch the new relief book as a test version and are looking for a group of conferences to be part of the pilot If you are interested in taking part, please email membersvoice@ssvpscotland for more information

Revitalising Conferences, Recruiting and Engaging Members

Our members are the lifeblood of our Society, called to join the Vincentian family and to serve the poor Without our members we cannot reach those who need us

Finding new volunteers for many charities and organisations is challenging, and it is vital that we meet this challenge, looking not only to widen our Vincentian family by welcoming new members, but also to make sure we provide resources and support to our existing members to revitalise and energise them in their mission

The membership group will focus both on recruitment of new members and revitalisation of existing conferences and members

If you are interested in joining this working group, please send an email with ‘Membership Working Group’ in the title, briefly outlining your interest to membersvoice@ssvpscotland.com by 26 June 2026. th

WORKING GROUP UPDATES

Partnering Working Group Update

The partnering working group has begun their work looking at opportunities for internal partnering between conferences to allow sharing of resources and ideas to best support those in need. For a more detailed description of Internal Partnering at work, see pg 20

Banking Working Group Update

The banking working group has been working hard to arrange the transfer of several accounts closed by TSB to new RBS accounts. Applications for lower fees for all RBS accounts (through the Banking Services Framework) have also begun. There will be opportunities for other conferences to move to RBS in the future This will allow all to benefit from the increase support the team at National Office will be able to provide and from lower bank charges.

Communications Working Group Update

The communication working group is focussing initially on the best methods of communicationg with members, supporters and beneficiaries. As a priority, work has begun to update our membership contact list and website.

If

SPOTLIGHT ON: GIFT AID

Gift Aid is a simple way for supporters to make their donations go further, at no extra cost to them.

When a donor who pays UK tax chooses to add Gift Aid, we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated from HMRC That means:

A £20 donation becomes £25

A £100 donation becomes £125

Over the course of a year, these additional funds can make a real difference, helping to support more individuals and families facing hardship across Scotland.

For donors, Gift Aid is quick and easy to add It only requires a simple declaration confirming they are a UK taxpayer, and it can be applied to both one-off and regular donations

At present, donors have the option to make a single Gift Aid declaration or a Multiple Gift Aid declaration. The multiple form enables gift aid to claimed on all donations going forward, and on all donations made in the previous 4 years, provided these have been documented. Both forms can be found on the website or can be provided from the National Office.

GIFT AID

Many supporters are happy to give more impact to their donation - they just need to be reminded how straightforward Gift Aid is

By actively encouraging Gift Aid, we can unlock vital additional income, strengthen financial sustainability, and ensure every donation works as hard as possible to support those in need.

Claiming Gift Aid

Gift Aid claims are made centrally from the National Office as a single claim for the whole charity.

The money generated from your own conference gift aid donations are then transferred to your conference once the HMRC payment is received

Opportunity for all conferences!

Due to staffing shortages in the National Office, it has not been possible to submit Gift Aid claims in the past 4 years. However, as HMRC allows claims to be submitted for the previous 4 financial years, we will be able to submit a claim for the tax years:

2022-2023

2023-2024

2024-2025

2025-2026

We will submit this claim in early 2027. Therafter we will return to submitting an annual return.

What this means for you

If you receive regular donations from donors direct to your conference bank account, and DO NOT currently receive gift aid, please reach out to speak to your donors. If they are eligible and willing to complete a Gift Aid declaration, please ask them to do so. You will be able to do this for ALL donations received digitally in the previous 4 financial years as outlined above.

The National Office team will reach out later in the year to collate all completed forms and details of the relevant donations made from all conferences.

*Please note, it is not possible to submit a Gift Aid form for cash donations UNLESS the cash donation was receipted ot the time of donation or paid as a separate payment into the bank

SPOTLIGHT ON: TWINNING

Hilary Young, Trustee, Diocesan President, Aberdeen

Twinning is one of the pillars of our SSVP Scotland charity and as a Trustee, I have an overview of this aspect of serving others internationally

Twinning procedures are set by the SSVP Council General International (CGI) which is based in Paris The CGI designates the SSVP National Councils to be twinned and Scotland has been twinned with India and South Africa.

Our own SSVP conferences are involved with local good works, sharing in prayer, resources, and friendship. This is replicated on an international level through Twinning, whereby conferences are linked with SSVP conferences in poorer parts of the world so that together we can eradicate injustice and poverty. The local people receive financial help needed to transform their lives and local community, so that they in turn can help other communities

Scotland’s

Twinning partners are set by the CGI in Paris

SSVP Scotland has 103 Twinned Conferences in South Africa

SSVP Scotland has 267 Twinned Conferences in India

Regular communication with twinned conferences is encouraged to build up positive connections.

This communication can provide learning about the realities of life in their country and how your Twinning is making a positive impact.

However it is important to remember that some of our twinned conferences are in communities that do not have electricity or computers so we may have to communicate by writing to them. Language barriers may also exist and translators may be required to help with communication, normally provided through SSVP members in their own country.

Due to recent closures or abeyance of Conferences, we have twins available right now who urgently need spiritual and financial support. If your Conference can help support a twin, please get in touch Conferences can request an Indian or South Africa Twin (or both) via the SSVP National Office, Glasgow (see form on members section of website) or by contacting our approachable and knowledgeable volunteer Twinning Officers:

Stephen Jack covers India and can be contacted by Email on Indiatwinning@ssvpscotland.com

Jackie Halforty, covers South Africa and Special Projects and can be contacted by Email on saAndprojects@ssvpscotland.com

Did you know?

Conferences can have more than one Twin The cost to support a Twin is £40 per quarter which is transferred by standing order to the National Office who then arrange payment internationally, reducing transaction costs and enabling a transparent payment process.

twinning

Special Projects

Alongside twinning, we also have Special Projects whereby conferences can provide financial support to specific projects in India. Your support can assist with projects such as the purchase of fishing nets enabling families to become more self-sufficient or purchase of sewing machines that can enable them to start up a small business If your Conference would like to support a Special Project by providing funds, please do not hesitate to contact the SSVP National Office.

There are three Student Sponsorship Schemes:

Student Sponsorship

As part of Twinning, we also provide financial support to a student sponsorship scheme for school pupils, technical/vocational pupils, and higher education students in India Some of the courses run over five years. This enables changes in the lives of the students, their families, their communities, their countries, and the world.

HES – for Higher Education Students studying such as Medicine and Engineering - £90 per year

TVTS – for Technical & Vocational Education Students, including IT, studying in Polytechnics – £50 per year

VJS – Vidya Jyothi Student for school studying students

Student Grades 6 to 10 - £20 per year

Student Grades 11 to 12 - £30 per year

If your Conference is interested in supporting a student, please contact Stephen at indiatwinning@ssvpscotlandcom for more information and you can download an application form from the website.

Serving you in hope,

Hilary Young, Trustee , SSVP President of Aberdeen Diocese

SPOTLIGHT ON: PARTNERING

Stronger Together

Finding out more about partnering or collaborating with other conferences locally was one of the themes emerging from members’ feedback at the Society’s last Annual Meeting. Here, two members, Anne Marie Kelly and Marie Milmore, put the spotlight on the experiences of their two neighbouring conferences working together.

St Joseph’s parish and conference is located in Clarkston while St Mary’s & Holy Name covers the Pollokshaws/Mansewood areas. St Joseph’s is a parish and conference of the Diocese of Paisley while St Mary’s & Holy Name sits with the Archdiocese of Glasgow.

Clarkston is typically described as prosperous area The catchment of St Mary’s & Holy Name, however, is more mixed, blending real plenty with several pockets of poverty, and serving a growing asylum seeker and refugee population.

Our conferences operate in a busy urban environment with many primary and secondary schools locally At least one school is served by both St Joseph’s and St Mary’s & Holy Name. In common with the experience of many in the conference network, the local schools in our conferences’ catchment areas act as a key conduit, helping identify where needs exists, especially among families and school-age children.

We know that different conferences work in slightly different ways influenced by demographics, financial constraints and even the diverse range of skills available within each conference

Our conferences have collaborated successfully over the last two years, developing joint plans and approaches to help tackle multiple needs This emerged first from a campaign run by the conferences, operated in conjunction with the headteacher of local schools and targeted at families Working in unison, our conferences have visited families to better understand needs before going on to develop tailored responses, involving the pulling of our resources and expertise. We have extended our joint responses even further beyond schools

PARTNERING

Through our close working, we have gained insight into different ways of working, and extended our learning through observing how others operate. We have been able to share tasks, and avoid duplication We have been able to extend our reach from problem-solving together. Depending on how healthy the conference balance is at a point in time, one of our conferences has been able to absorb more of the burden of costs incurred when responding to needs.

Importantly, we believe that you feel less isolated as a conference when partnering together. It helps engender a spirit and a feeling of each conference belonging to part of a much bigger whole. If for any reason we have found it awkward or delicate to work with a family or individual, we draw strength from always having a friendly partner conference close at hand that we can trust and share responsibility for coming up with a resolution Working with other conferences that share the same goals is immensely satisfying; it helps build bonds with like-minded people and groups.

Our experience of collaboration has brought many benefits other than the sharing of resources and expertise. We know more about what works and about what doesn’t from sharing ideas and information openly Sometimes, we have found out things that we hadn’t been aware of previously, enabling new learning to be put into practice Unquestionably, we have been able to amplify our impact and our visibility in the process.

As Vincentians, we have sought throughout our collaboration to emulate St. Vincent in the five virtues essential for promoting love and respect for the poor, including Zeal We have attempted to bring enthusiasm, energy and fervour to how we have approached our collaboration, focusing on turning individual efforts at a conference level into collective change to the benefit, we hope and believe, of those seeking our help.

Anne Marie Kelly, President of St Joseph’s Clarkston, and Marie Milmore, St Mary’s and Holy Name Conference, Glasgow

UPDATES: YOUTH ‘TACKLING POVERTY’ CONFERENCE

Turning Faith into Action: Senior Vinnies Respond to Dilexi Te

Tackling Poverty in Scotland: Responding to Dilexi Te brought together more than 30 pupils and teachers in Glasgow to explore how faith can be translated into meaningful action on poverty

Inspired by the publication of Pope Leo’s first apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te, which calls Christians to love the poor and work for the eradication of poverty, the event invited pupils to deepen their understanding of poverty in Scotland, Catholic Social Teaching, and campaigning and advocacy.

The conference which was organised by the SSVP National Youth Development Coordinator and the Social Justice Officer from Justice & Peace Scotland (J&P Scotland) welcomed Senior Vinnies pupils from the Archdioceses of Glasgow and the Diocese of Motherwell. Senior Vinnies are SSVP groups for pupils in secondary schools across Scotland.

TACKLING POVERTY CONFERENCE

The day began with an input from the Poverty Alliance, grounding pupils in key facts and statistics about poverty in Scotland. Real-life case studies brought these issues to life, while a household budgeting activity helped pupils grasp the daily challenges faced by those living on a low income.

Students then reflected on Dilexi Te and how Pope Leo calls on us to protect the marginalised and demand structural change to end poverty, before building practical skills in advocacy and campaigning. They ended the day by working together to plan projects to deliver in their schools in partnership with SSVP Scotland and J&P Scotland.

Many thanks to Archbishop Nolan, President of J&P Scotland, who came along to meet the pupils and to Sister Maria Robb, Spiritual Director for SSVP Scotland, who facilitated the opening prayers and led pupils in spiritual reflection on love and action for those experiencing poverty.

Though this was a pilot conference, it proved a real success: 100% of participants said they felt better equipped to take action on poverty in Scotland - a hopeful sign for the future. Plans are now underway for the SSVP National Youth Development Coordinator to develop a Tackling Poverty Resource for all Senior Vinnies schools

The event was a great opportunity for SSVP Youth to collaborate with Justice and Peace Scotland. We look forward to working together in the future.

Photos courtesy of Paul McSherry

FINANCIAL APPEAL: INTERNATIONAL

To donate to the International Appeal

By Bank transfer:

Please transfer to the National Office account with Int Appeal as a reference.

By Cheque:

Please make cheques payable to SSVP Scotland and write International Appeal on the back. Send cheques to the National Office

Your support helps us to:

•

• Stand with Vincentians who are responding to disasters and emergencies in their communities. Have funds available to provide help quickly when urgent needs arise. Strengthen Councils that are working to develop programmatic responses to systemic poverty, and to increase their capacity to respond to emergency needs in their community. Show, through our shared service, the compassion and love of Christ to those who are suffering.

We invite you to download and share widely the 2025 Annual Report of the CIAD

We encourage you to share the CIAD Annual Report with your fellow members. It shows how your generosity has brought real help and hope to people facing difficult circumstances. This is now the fifth year we have relied on a single annual appeal rather than multiple appeals for individual disasters This approach allows us to respond more quickly and ensures that support reaches even those crises that may not receive widespread attention

• • Every gift matters. Some may be able to give more, others less but every contribution strengthens our worldwide network of friends. Just as important, we ask for your prayers for those affected by disasters and for the Vincentians who serve them.

Thank you for continuing to walk together in faith, hope, and charity

Serving in the love of Christ,

P.S. Please share this appeal with your Council and Conference leadership and with your fellow members From the Council General to parish volunteers, we are one Vincentian family serving those in need Thank you for your generosity and your prayers Please send your funds to your National Council, specifying that they are for the 2026 Annual Appeal for the Fund for International Solidarity

FINANCIAL APPEAL: NATIONAL

National Level Initiatives

Youth Development

Continuing to expand and develop our youth initiatives is imperative. These are our Vincentians of today AND tomorrow!

Did you know we currently have over 2,800 youth members in Scotland?!

To help us continue to support youth development in Scot Annual Youth Appeal. The appeal will run during the month of July, in recognition and the feast of Saint Pier Giorgio Fressati, Patron Saint of Vincentian Youth, on July 4th.

Monies donated for youth development will be utilised to develop increased resources and opportunities to engage our youth across Mini Vinnies, Senior Vinnies and SSVP 1833, our University groups.

To donate to the youth appeal please send monies to the National Office with Youth as a payment reference or written on the back of the cheque.

Your paragraph text

FUNDRAISING

These boots were made for walking...

th

On Saturday 13 September, members of the National Office Team will be lacing up their boots and taking part in the Kiltwalk to raise awareness (and hopefully some funds!) for SSVP Scotland :)

Kiltwalks take part in various cities in Scotland throughout the year and provide a great opportunity to see the sites around our cities, enjoy a walk and promote charities.

The ‘Might Stride’ Kiltwalk event in Edinburgh covers 21 miles from Holyrood Park to the Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium.

Will you join us?

It would be fantastic to have a team of Vincentian supporters join us on this walk. Entry fees are £20 per person for ages 13years and over and could be covered by conferences. You don’t have to be an SSVP member to take part, however. Why not invite friends and family members to join. The more we have taking part, the bigger impact we can have.

To register your interest to take part, please contact membersvoice@ssvpscotland.com by 26 June. th

USEFUL RESOURCES

Supporting you in the National Office

DATES FOR THE DIARY 2026

Key Dates to take note of for upcoming events

Date

July 4th

July

Event

Blessed Pier Giorgio Fressati Feast Day and International Youth Day

National Youth Appeal

22 August nd Anniversary of the Beatification of Frederic Ozanam

5 September th Annual General Meeting, Stirling Booking forms will be sent to Conferences in June

13 September th Kiltwalk, Edinburgh

CLOSING THOUGHT

It is our vocation to set people’s hearts ablaze, to do what the Son of God did, who came to light a fire on earth in order to set it ablaze with His love.

Frédéric Ozanam