National President, Claire Victory, visits Tasmania

The St Vincent de Paul Society (Tas) is honoured to welcome St Vincent de Paul Society National President, Claire Victory, to Tasmania.

Claire has been a member of the Society since the age of ten and brings over 27 years of experience serving and supporting the Society in various capacities, including extensive involvement in Vinnies Youth programmes and ten years on National Council.

Claire has the honour of several firsts in her role as National President. She is the first woman ever elected to the role in Australia; she is the first South Australian to fill this role; and she is the youngest President of the Society in its 167 years history in this country.

Speaking about her role as National President, Claire said her daily priority is to continue strengthening the Society’s work towards building a more just and compassionate society.

“In a context of persistent poverty and new forms of inequality, I fully support the Society in its role as a leading voice for social justice and change,” Ms Victory said.

“A key challenge for the future of [the Society] is ensuring the dynamism of our membership so that we can continue to respond with hope and love to those bearing the brunt of poverty and inequality.

“We need to ensure that we are operating in the most effective way possible while retaining our mission at the heart of all we do,” Ms Victory said.

_{MEDIA NOTES: The St Vincent de Paul Society was founded in Paris, France in 1833 by a 20-year old Italian student, Frederic Ozanam. Today, the Society operates in 153 countries and has over 800,000 members. Australia has over 60,000 members, dedicated to assisting people in need and combating social injustice. The Society started in Tasmania in 1899 when founders established a Conference in Launceston. From humble beginnings, the Society has grown to 25 Conferences within three Regional Councils across Tasmania. Each Conference undertake a variety of good works, the most recognised being the traditional Vincentian home visits and the annual CEO Sleep-out to draw attention to homelessness.}

_{Media contact, Mark Wells: +61 414 015 966 (24-hours)
© St Vincent de Paul Society and MWPA.}