THE St Vincent de Paul yesterday said it expects a dramatic increase in people coming to them for help at Christmas time, with the charity already seeing a surge in calls to its offices.Launching its annual Christmas appeal, the St Vincent de Paul said it was hoping to raise between €8 million and €10m this year so it can help provide food and heat to people struggling with debt.
The appeal campaign is spearheaded by new television and radio advertisements which will run from now until Christmas, appealing for donations from the public under the banner "You’re not just giving money – you’re giving hope".
Máiréad Bushnell of the SVP said demand on the charity’s services began to increase last August in advance of the new school year, and since then some Dublin offices have seen a 50% increase in calls while offices in other areas such as Cork and Sligo have seen calls increase by up to 35%.
In addition, the number of people requiring Christmas calls to their homes had risen from the usual list of a page and a half, to a list four pages long.
"We estimate that about 100,000 calls will be received by our regional offices and local conferences in the next four weeks," she said.
Ms Bushnell also said that the scrapping of the Christmas bonus payment forsocial welfare recipients had also placed people underadditional pressure.
"Families have a terrible fear," she said. "There are people who will be sitting in the cold because they are afraid to spend money."
There are approximately 1,200 conferences, or small SVP groups, around the country and Ms Bushnell said her own branch had already purchased €15,000 worth of vouchers, illustrating the likely demand for services this year.
Those services cost SVP €1m a week, with the coming period resulting in the charity spending €9.4m in direct aid, at least €6.1m on food and €3.8m on education support and helping with people’s energy bills.
SVP chairman John Monaghan said the figure spent on food this year is likely to exceed the €6.1m spent last year, amid concern overfurther cuts in next month’s budget.
He said social welfarerecipients in particular were apprehensive about what measures might be introduced. "The fear those people have is palpable – you could cut it with a knife," he said.
The chairman of the SVP National Fundraising Committee, Nick Sparrow, said there would be a focus again this year on church gate collections, although he admitted that fewer people were attending church.
"The message we are trying to get across [in the campaign] is that you the viewer, you the donor, the supporter, can make a real difference in these people’s lives," he said.
lSVP week runs fromDecember 6-13. Information on the SVP Appeal, including the Giving Tree campaign, and on how to donate, is on www.svp.ie
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