12/06/2026
Volunteering in the community.
At our meeting on Tuesday 9th June one of our members Sandra Demagistris spoke to us about being a volunteer. Sandra was a charter member of our club almost 30yrs ago. She spoke about something else very close to her heart, volunteering at St Vincent de Paul Society. She currently serves as President of the Moe Conference & earlier this year also took on the position of President of the Gippsland Central Council. This keeps her very busy, but she also loves meeting other wonderful volunteers. She gave us lots of background, but I hope I do it justice in this edited version.
St Vincent de Paul's was founded in Paris in 1833 by Frederic Ozanam & friends. He recognised hardship & decided to start helping people directly rather than just talking about it. The Society arrived in Melbourne in 1854 & the Moe Society started at St Kieran's in 1965. Their 60th anniversary was celebrated last yr.
In 1997 the Moe conference started a soup van but they also found soup & sandwiches was only part of it. It was connecting with the community too.
Sandra also explained the many ways St Vincent's assists the community & how our volunteer community service groups, such as Inner Wheel, Rotary, local schools, churches & businesses, help us to achieve more together.
Become a volunteer & see the rewards 🌹
