St Vincent de Paul Member Roadshow rolls into Ballymena

The Society of St Vincent de Paul has hosted a series of Member Roadshows, visiting towns and cities across the province, to engage with members in person for the first time since March last year.
By Elinor Glynn
Published 18th Oct 2021, 09:00 BST
Updated 18th Oct 2021, 09:38 BST
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The County Antrim Roadshow recently arrived in Ballymena where members were greeted at the Tullyglass Hotel.

Following opening prayers and a welcome by Mary Waide, regional board members of SVP, took to the stage to present various aspects of the Society’s work to assembled guests representing their local SVP Conferences. Following a thought provoking spiritual reflection, board members presented the Society’s retail strategy for its 33 Vincent’s shops in Northern Ireland, a report of the outreach into prisons, details of how each Conference should report on its finances and new ways of adhering to policies and procedures for those being assisted by the charity and those providing the assistance. An interactive element encouraged guests to engage in a healthy discussion with board members before closing prayers.

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Speaking about the Member Roadshows, Mary Waide, Regional President of SVP North Region, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the success of this series of SVP Member Roadshows and the feedback from those who were able to attend. It was important for the SVP regional board to get out into our local communities having had such a long time apart from our members face to face. The focus of the roadshows were to primarily express our gratitude to our members for the sterling work they have been continuing to do on the ground to help those who have needed it most, during the most trying of times, and to share with them our SVP vision for the longer term. The dedication of members of SVP has never been more important than it has been in the past 18 months. I know from experience how daunting it has been trying to help the vulnerable in our community without compromising or risking the health of those who are supporting those in need.

Attending the SVP Member Roadshow for County Antrim in Tullyglass Hotel were guests from Antrim and Glenravel areas Betty McGinley, Sean McIlmunn, Siobhan McLaughlin, Dympna Gallagher and Eileen KyleAttending the SVP Member Roadshow for County Antrim in Tullyglass Hotel were guests from Antrim and Glenravel areas Betty McGinley, Sean McIlmunn, Siobhan McLaughlin, Dympna Gallagher and Eileen Kyle
Attending the SVP Member Roadshow for County Antrim in Tullyglass Hotel were guests from Antrim and Glenravel areas Betty McGinley, Sean McIlmunn, Siobhan McLaughlin, Dympna Gallagher and Eileen Kyle

“As we move forward, it is my hope that our Conferences in County Antrim continue to go from strength to strength under the guidance of Frederic Ozanam who founded SVP almost 180 years ago.”

*See this week’s Ballymena Times for more photos of the event

Related topics:BallymenaTullyglass Hotel