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<\/p>\nJohn D\u2019Souza doesn\u2019t do anything by halves and when he puts his hand up to get involved, he is all in and, is all in, for the long haul.<\/p>\n
Nothing epitomises his commitment to community than his long standing association with the St Vincent de Paul Society – affectionately known as Vinnies –\u00a0the long time volunteer and administrator clocking up five decades of rolling up his sleeves and being an integral part of the charity organisation last month.<\/p>\n
September 9, barely a fortnight after he arrived in Mount Gambier from India with his family, was when John was taken to a meeting and immediately took on a role, making that date his official 50 year milestone and over that time he has always been a local volunteer as well as taking on State, national and international roles.<\/p>\n
Vinnies was founded in Paris in 1833 by Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Ozanam, established by like-minded people who wanted to put their Catholic faith into action and that is exactly why John got involved in the first place and why he continues to this day.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt is nourishment for your faith when you do charity work,\u201d he said. \u201cIt allows you to show your faith through helping people and it strengthens your own faith.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you get involved like this it gives you a unique position to see, person-to-person, and to share the trouble ad hardship that is going on in someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften they won\u2019t tell anyone else about what they are going through but when the come into Vinnies they often open their heart and tell you what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
And since attending that first meeting and ascending to the president role in the local conference for a decade, John\u2019s reason for being involved has always been the people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking with people is my favourite part,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m a human being, I make mistakes, I\u2019m not a saint. Building relationships with people makes you strong and helping people is a two way street.\u201d<\/p>\n
From day one to now, much of John\u2019s time is spent visiting people in hospital, going to aged care facilities and working in the charity shop and while he dedicates a lot of time to his Vinnies work, the organisation welcomes volunteers with no boundaries on the time they need to commit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt maybe once a fortnight or once a week or a couple of hours, it is just about building relationships,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n