At the launch of their annual Christmas appeal yesterday, Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) said it expects to receive more than 250,000 calls for help this year. At the end of October the number of calls for requests for help were up 7% on last year. SVP supports families across Ireland in different ways, including providing food vouchers, grocery and utility bills support and seasonal help such as at Christmas time. Speaking at the launch, Marty Whelan encouraged the public to donate to SVP to make