Joan and Jacinta make a new team at SVP East Anglia

The St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) in East Anglia has appointed Joan Wall as its Central Council President and Jacinta Welch as its first membership support officer.

Jacinta will be visiting Conferences with Joan to meet members, learn about the work being carried out in parishes across East Anglia and to offer support. She will also facilitate the setting up of new Conferences, be a link to the national organisation and provide safeguarding training for all members.

The SVP was founded in 1833 by a group of students in Paris led by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam to help impoverished people living in the slums of the French capital. The SVP has been active in England since 1844 and in the East Anglia diocese as far back as 1913 in Cambridge. Within East Anglia the SVP has 16 groups, known as Conferences, with 150 members.

As a grassroots organisation fighting poverty, loneliness and injustice with dignity and compassion, the SVP is perhaps best known for visiting the housebound and lonely in parishes, but its work extends far beyond this vital support task. SVP members cook meals for families on low incomes during school holidays, donate household items, support the homeless, visit those in prison, in addition to other acts of kindness. The SVP’s work in East Anglia also includes managing two houses for homeless people in Sheringham.

Schools and young people are also major part of the Vincentian family. In the East Anglia diocese there are currently nine primary school groups, known as Mini Vinnies. Meanwhile in secondary schools, students set up and run Young Vincentian groups themselves with background support, and young adults aged 18-33 can set up SVP1833 groups.

Jacinta said: “I’m looking forward to meeting and supporting SVP members across the diocese and to welcome new members to the Vincentian family.”

If you would like to know more about setting up an SVP Conference in your parish, school or other setting, please contact Jacinta at  jacintaw@svp.org.uk or 07857 622603. Alternatively, to find out more about SVP, please visit www.svp.org.uk.

Pictured above are Joan Wall (left) and Jacinta Welch (right) at the SVP National Pilgrimage to Walsingham.