Hundreds attend St Vincent De Paul benefit brunch

The 30th annual fund-raising brunch of the Society of St Vincent De Paul, held at the Seminary at Mt St Benedict yesterday was a success, despite some rain. Hundreds of patrons made their way to the charity event to take part in the merriment and good food in a collective effort to gather funds for the society’s operations.

The brunch was more than an opportunity for members of the society to meet and gather funds. According to president of the society, the event, which over the past 30 years has become an eagerly anticipated fixture, is one of the society’s main fund-raising efforts which allows them to bring assistance to this nation’s poor.

“No person should come to us and leave without some kind of assistance. When people come to us we don’t think about their race or their beliefs. St Vincent De Paul’s concern was mainly for the poor so we at the Society for St Vincent De Paul are dedicated to helping the poor, regardless of their race or creed or background,” said Rudolph Bornero, national president for the Society of St Vincent De Paul.

The society has been in existence for more than 160 years, has a membership of more than 600 volunteers and controls operations in 16 homes, which include homes for the elderly, for orphans, for children with terminal diseases and shelters for the homeless. The society also has organisations stationed in 61 churches nationwide, who co-ordinate and assist with charity drives for the needy.

According to Bornero, the School Feeding Programme, which highly utilised by the government today, was actually a drive started by the society in 1936, which was taken over by the government eight years later.