Ongoing Foodbank Service – June 2020
As the pandemic hit our shores in 2020 the Foodbank Lifeline Foundation was inundated with requests for help. In turn they turned to us for assistance and since June 2020 a group of 16 VOTO volunteers have regularly been helping with the distribution of the food packs at the Valletta branch. Serving Maltese and foreign families twice a week. This is an ongoing initiative which will keep on running until our assistance is required.
Malta Marathon 2020 – 1st March 2020
A team of 8 VOTO Members participated in the 21KM GIG Malta Walkathon together with one of our special friends. This was done to raise funds and awareness about VOTO and its activities.
Christmas Extra Activities – 7th & 21st December 2019
This year VOTO undertook two extra Christmas activities. Following a generous donation of Mugs to VOTO, these were filled with Mince Pies and Chocolates (also kindly donated), wrapped and donated to The Elderly at Boffa Hospital. VOTO also, in conjunction with the Feed a Family at Christmas initiative, collected non-perishable food stuffs to be donated to those in need. With our members, Family and friends generous help we were able to collect a substantial amount of food for this worthy cause.
Patients Christmas Party – 11th December 2019
This year the VOTO Council hosted 63 adults and 18 children to a memorable Christmas party and Pasta Night which was held at the Marsa Sports Club. 22 volunteers helped out this year, Father Christmas made a special appearance and distributed small gifts to the Children and Boxes of Chocolates for the families. It was a lovely evening enjoyed by all.
Members Christmas Drinks – 9th December 2019
The VOTO Christmas drinks party was once again held at Drift Meze/Cafe in Ta L-Ibragg, enjoying a great turnout of 54 members and aspirants. A delicious selection of mezes and a lovely buffet were laid out for all to enjoy. As always it was a good opportunity for our members to meet in a relaxed atmosphere and celebrate together.
Spiritual Evening – 4th December 2019
This year’s Spiritual meeting was held at The Oratory in Sliema, where Fr. Savio gave us a thought provoking talk to focus our Spirituality for the Advent Season. A total of 10 members attended the talk which was followed by a Drink and a few Canapés.
Fund-Raising Autumn Lunch – 17th November 2019
The Autumn Lunch, now a yearly fixture, was very well attended with 175 Guest and 16 Children. The afternoon began with holy mass, after which our guests where hosted to a lavish lunch consisting of appetisers, an entrée of Risotto, a delicious spit-roast pork, a selection of roast vegetables and homemade desserts. This event was organised by an extremely hard working sub-committee and the bulk of the food was prepared and served by our volunteers, without who’s help we wouldn’t be able to fund-raise for our much loved special friends. The afternoon wrapped up with a raffle, which was another huge success and largely contributed to the funds generated by this event.
Patient Social Evening at Vecchia Napoli – 16th October 2019
For this year’s social evening we treated our guests to something different and held the Social evening at Vecchia Napoli in Salina. The event was very well attended with 53 special guests , 11 Children and 28 volunteers turning up to give a helping hand on the night. The abundant meal, a mix of pizza pasta or a salad was enjoyed by all. Overall it was a great evening, in a nice setting with great company.
Saturday 28th September 2019
The much-awaited Gozo trip was once again a huge success amongst our patients. This year’s 89 strong contingent was made up of patients, children and volunteers who flocked to Cirkewwa for an early start. We all set off with the 9:00 am ferry to Mgarr where we were greeted by 2 coaches and Chris F. Galea with his special purpose van accommodating 5 wheelchairs. Mass was celebrated by Rev. Mgr. Paul Vella at The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu in Gharb. After a lovely service, the group headed down towards Marsalforn where they were treated to some cool refreshments before heading to The Calypso Hotel for lunch, whereas always a lavish buffet was served. Following lunch, the group enjoyed some free time where they could walk along the promenade and enjoy an ice-cream or a coffee. The coaches once again collected the group at 3:15 pm to take us back to Mgarr harbour in time to catch the 4:30 pm ferry back to Malta. The cost of this special outing was sponsored by CASUMO Services Ltd, without whose kind contribution would not be able to treat our dear patients to such a lovely day. Special thanks also goes to Chris F. Galea and the OMVG who assisted us throughout the day and to Dar Tal-Providenza who kindly assist us with another special-purpose van to accommodate more wheelchair-bound patients.
29th September 2018 –
Following last year’s shift from June to September for this event, it was again decided to hold the outing in September due to popular demand. We hosted 90 special guests together with their families and were assisted by 31 volunteers. Following an early start we all set off on the 9:00am ferry from Cirkewwa, in Mgarr we were greeted by 2 coaches and 3 wheelchair vans, 2 of which were from Dar Tal-Providenza. Mass was held at the Xewkija Church which is the religious seat of the Order in Gozo, which was celebrated by Fr. Brendan Gatt and Mons. Paul Vella After a lovely service the group headed down towards Marsalforn where they were treated to tea and coffee. Following some free time and a walk along the promenade, we moved on to The Calypso Hotel whereas always a lavish lunch was served. The group made their way back to Mgarr Harbour and returned to Malta with the 4:30 pm ferry. The cost of this special outing was sponsored by CASUMO Services Ltd, without whose kind contribution would not be able to treat our dear patients to such a lovely day. Special thanks also goes to Chris Galea and the OMVG who assisted us throughout the day and helped in the planning of this trip.
