Jane Willloughby spoke to the girls about how St Vincent de Paul distribute these knitted goods. They are not sold in the St Vincent de Paul shops but reserved for welfare cases when they occur. Jane spoke about the plight of the recipients of these blankets. One was an elderly man in the middle of winter who could not afford heating on his pension. He was looking forlorn and sad and when Jane gave him one of our blankets he beamed knowing the St Pat’s girls had made the blanket with love. The very fact someone cared about him restored his spirit. Another was a family whose only possessions were what they could carry. They came to one of the St Vinnies stores and Jane gave the family our blankets to get through the winter. Again, the recipients were so touched that there were people out there empathising with them.

Jane also highlighted to the girls the increasing number of homeless people in the Campbelltown area. The main cause of this is housing/rental affordability. Jane explained to the girls that one of the main difficulties for the elderly in winter was keeping warm. Most could not afford the electricity for heating so the blankets were often all they would have.

I would like to thank the knitting group helpers – Mrs Maureen McCann, Ms Lorraine St John, Mrs Maureen O’Brien, Mrs Cathy Johnson, Mrs Janine McLeod, Mrs Shirley Mills and Ms Kay Cornett for assisting the girls each Thursday lunchtime. We are also indebted to the grandmothers and friends of the College who donate knitted squares regularly, Mrs Jan Vacchini, Mrs Pam Poole, Mrs Jean Mills, Mrs Judith Andrews and Mrs Gayle Levy.

We will be continuing Knitting Group until term 4 so we would appreciate donations of knitted squares (cast on 50 stitches in garter stitch), wool and needles (preferably 8mm size 4).

Fran Musico Rullo - HSIE Teacher