The Vinnies CEO Sleepout continues to grow year on year with $9.6 million raised nationally, including $3.245 million at events in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, and virtually throughout the state. Since launching in 2006, where the first sleepout raised little more than $5,000, the Vinnies CEO Sleepout surpassed a lifetime national total of $80 million in its 17th year. At a time when a soaring number of people are feeling the pinch of cost of living and housing affordability, the funds raised from the Society’s flagship fundraising event will help restore hope and certainty to people experiencing hardship.

In response to the floods that devastated NSW’s Northern Rivers early in 2022, Vincentians offered a hand-up to more than 6,000 people with financial aid, material assistance, and emotional support. For many locals who lived through earlier floods in the region, the impacts of the unprecedented disaster, amplified by the effects of climate change, were unlike anything seen previously. Thanks to the generosity of donors, $3.8 million was raised through the Vinnies NSW Flood Appeal, enabling the Society to be the first organisation to respond with cash grants to impacted households at disaster recovery centres located across the region.

From humble beginnings to becoming an institution of the Australian retail market, Vinnies Shops in NSW marked 100 years of pre-loved discovery in 2022. In addition to offering customers a unique retail experience, Vinnies Shops play a vital role in communities across the state with volunteers generously giving of their time to help raise important funds that enable the Society to deliver services to people experiencing disadvantage. As part of a year–long run of celebrations, a centenary event in Newtown, the site of the very first Vinnies Shop, will be held in the first half of the next financial year. 

With the pandemic entering a third year of disruption and uncertainty, the Society continued to step up in an effort to keep the community safe. From collaborating with NSW Health and other service providers to deliver vaccinations to vulnerable members of the community, assembling testing kits through its network of Australian Disability Enterprises, and providing outreach to communities experiencing the toll of lockdown, the Society responded with a collective mindset of ‘we are all in this together.’

As part of the Society’s aspiration to shape a more just and compassionate society for all, new policies and structures were implemented to promote greater diversity and inclusivity. These include the establishment of the Rainbow Pride Network, an Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, and a Disability Inclusion Action Plan. The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW is committed to being representative of Australian diversity and providing its people with education and cultural competencies to best meet the needs of the people we serve.