Acts of charity are vital, but we need to tell others about what we are doing and why. Part of the challenge facing all of us is to spread the word that there are so many people who need our support and that they are actually on our doorstep. This is called raising awareness.

So how can we go about raising awareness? Here are a few ideas:

• Tell everyone around you.
• Do a presentation at school.
• Talk at the end of Sunday Mass.
• Write something for your local paper.
• Get in touch with your local radio.
• Go into other schools.
• Put a video up on YouTube.
• Put up an Instagram post.
• Talk to your parish priest or headteacher.
• Write to your local Member of Parliament.
• Start a petition.
• Speak at your local SVP conference or district meeting.
• Tell us at National Office.
• Write to your Bishop.

These are just a few of the ways you could raise awareness. Most of them take very little time so why not do all of them? The more creative you can be with how you raise awareness the more successful you will be.