Gym fundraiser a lift for St Vincent de Paul, Mullingar

While January may not be as hectic as December for the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) Mullingar, they are still busy as the burden of the escalating cost of essentials is being experienced by many families across Westmeath.

SVP endeavour to assist those feeling the pinch the most, Mullingar Branch president Martin Shaw explained: “Over Christmas we gave away more than 50 bags of food, providing hampers for more than 500 families. We also handed out €50,000 in vouchers.

“As you can imagine, at this time of year, there’s still a significant demand on our service. There’s always a need for food as the weather gets colder in January. We get asked for support for heating, and for food, because you need food to stay warm.”

SVP are assisting an increasing number: “More people are coming to us who are above the threshold for income support because they’re working in jobs that give them a basic wage, but they’re not getting much extra. We’re starting off the new year by distributing the final donations of non-perishable food donated at Christmas. People were generous with food parcels donations this year.”

Volunteers are the lifeblood of St Vincent De Paul. The can charity help out because of the support of the public, both financially and by giving time: “We’re always looking for more volunteers. Normally our volunteer can give about two hours a week, but it’s invaluable. We’re always trying to get a few new people in.”

Quite a number of businesses in Westmeath organise fundraisers to bolster the coffers of SVP, and one is the Mullingar fitness studio Performance Driven Strength and Conditioning (PDSC).

Martin said: “We are very grateful to people like Joey and Ciara in PDSC, and for the schools who help us. Their contribution is vital, and it also makes people aware of the work that Vincent de Paul does.”

This is the second year PDSC has run an event for SVP. Joey Cleary told the Westmeath Examiner the reason they support SVP is simple: “They are a local charity. All money raised locally goes to local families, and that’s important.

“At this time of the year, there is a definite need for charities like St Vincent de Paul – they bring a bit of comfort to hard pressed families. They really are an excellent charity who help a lot of people.”

Joey explained that the money comes from those who use the gym: “I have to thank the generosity of our members supporting us. We run a yearly raffle, we’ve actually supported and raised funds for St Vincent de Paul for the last five years now.

“We can do it thanks to the generosity of local businesses in town who support us by giving us vouchers for their businesses, such as Tom Birmingham menswear, and Sheelin Meats and a number of others, they’re just excellent to support us.”

Martin says that the money donated goes to help out needy families in the area: “I want to thank all the people of Mullingar for their continued support, people like Joy and the general public. Without them, we would be completely lost.

“I also want to thank the volunteers who gave their time and their energy to go out in all kinds of weather to get to houses to deliver food in the last couple of months.

“We are so happy the people of Mullingar hold us in such good regard, because they are the generations who have worked with Vincent de Paul over the years. We’re eternally grateful, and hopefully that support will continue.”