The St Vincent de Paul Society (England and Wales) recently launched their ‘A Year of Encounter’ campaign in partnership with the Catholic international development charity, CAFOD, to encourage people to engage with their local parliamentary candidates during this general election year.
The two faith organisations have produced a joint campaign booklet that hopes to inspire members and supporters to reach out to their prospective candidates and advocate for more robust measures to tackle poverty, a priority for both charities, at the next parliament.
Alessandra Sciarra, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the St Vincent De Paul Society (England and Wales) said:
“The main aim of the campaign is to strengthen community participation and build strong community links by local faith groups at parish and constituency level with candidates.
“Our partnership with CAFOD is integral to ensuring we encourage people of faith to reach out to their local candidates to find out more about the issues that, as people of faith, we care about. And our Year of Encounter booklet provides some easy steps on how to reach out to them.
Andrea Speranza, Campaigns Engagement manager at CAFOD said:
“This initiative is not about political affiliations, but is about encouraging and supporting communities to engage with the local candidates ahead of the next election and to raise their voices as a faith group about the issues that will bring about a fairer world, from tackling global poverty to stopping climate change.
“Pope Francis tells us we must foster a culture of encounter, where we don’t simply pass each other in the street, but engage in true dialogue, and the Year of Encounter initiative aims at supporting communities to do this.”
2024, the SVP’s 180th anniversary year, is a celebration of their long-standing social justice tradition of working to tackle poverty and its causes by bringing a blend of services and support to people in need in local communities.
To find out more and to access the ‘A Year of Encounter’ resources please visit: https://svp.org.uk/encounter#:~:text=The%20common%20good%20is%20reached,and%20in%20the%20wider%20world
For more information and interviews, please email the SVP’s Social Policy team on yearofencounter@svp.org.uk or contact the SVP’s Media & Communications Officer on MeganL@svp.org.uk or by calling 07842409302.