On 22 June 2026, over 150 students from 32 Catholic primary and secondary schools across the Diocese of Parramatta gathered at St John Paul II Catholic College, Nirimba Fields, for the Faith in Action Encounter Day. The event was a joint initiative between Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese (CSPD) and the St Vincent de Paul Society, building on a formal partnership established in 2025 that strengthened ties through the Encountering Jesus curriculum used in Catholic schools across Greater Western Sydney. Schools represented ranged from Nagle College Blacktown and St Andrews Primary in Marayong to Cerdon College in Merrylands and St Thomas Aquinas Primary in the Blue Mountains, reflecting the broad geographic reach of the day. 

The Encounter Day formed an experience-based part of the Term 2 Learning Cycles for the Encountering Jesus curriculum, giving students a firsthand look at poverty and homelessness outside the classroom. The day's keynote, “On Fire for Christ – Not Lukewarm,” was delivered by Roydon Ng, Greater Western Sydney Schools Engagement Officer. Drawing on Revelation 3:15-16 and 2 Timothy 1:6-7, Ng challenged students to consider whether their faith was passive or active. His address wove together Catholic Social Teaching, the personal story of David, an individual we assisted, and budgeting and housing simulations meant to push reflection into action. 

Ng described the curriculum as something meant to recur rather than be “completed,” noting that students recognized Christ's presence in David's story and in the difficulty of the budgeting exercise without being told to. He praised the students' independent grasp of the “See-Think-Do” framework, noting that all 32 participating schools had already moved from awareness to planned action by the day's end. 

The Encounter Day is just one entry point into a wider range of youth programs in the Society. Primary students can join Mini Vinnies, engaging in service projects like snackpacks for Vinnies Vans, while secondary students can pursue the Vinnies Service Medallion through hamper preparation, fundraising, retail volunteering, and advocacy.  

Other avenues include Busking for Vinnies, the Buddies Day program for children in difficult home situations, and outreach through TAFE campuses, career expos, university orientations, and Vinnies Youth Conferences at Campion College and Western Sydney University. 

Looking ahead, Ng pointed to the Winter Appeal as the next opportunity for students to put faith into practice through hamper preparation and donations. He also highlighted the Greater Sydney Vinnies Community Sleepout on 28 August at ACU Strathfield as a deeper, embodied experience of homelessness for secondary students. Ng additionally urged teachers to continue the journey alongside their students by joining a local Conference or supporting families experiencing hardship directly, rather than only preparing students to act independently. 

The day closed with a Vincentian blessing delivered by Leo Tucker, Executive Director of Mission and Formation Team, who invoked the words of St Vincent de Paul Society founder Blessed Frederic Ozanam: “Let us do without hesitation whatever good lies at our hands.”