Can you help get us ready for school?

The start of the new term is looming and we are really looking forward to welcoming our youngest and newest members of The Club tomorrow!

To make sure that every child has all they need to tackle the new school year we are looking for donations of school supplies. If you can help, please email Clodagh@solasproject.ie /086-4106218.

You can make a donation online via: https://www.idonate.ie/1919_solas-project.html

Or via EFT: IBAN: IE10BOFI90087757505579BIC: BOFIIE2D Bank of Ireland James St, Dublin 8

 Our Wish List!

• 48 Sum copies

• 48 writing copies

• 12 rulers

• 24 red pens

• 24 blue pens

• 12 children’s safety scissors (right handed)

• 12 children’s safety scissors (left handed)

• 24 packs Blu-tac(the white one that doesn’t mark the walls)

• 12 roll masking tape

• 24 rolls sellotape

• 12 rulers

• 24 rubbers/erasers

• 12 bottles PVA glue 250ml

• 24 large Pritt sticks

• 12 packs of white A4 paper

• 12 packs of Coloured Paper/Card A4

• Three battery operated pencil sharpeners (K & M Evans)

• Lots of A3 coloured card

• A3 paper of any description (newsprint etc)

• A2 coloured card & paper

• 20 packets of chalk (coloured and white)

We are hiring!

We are delighted to announce we are searching for a new member of our wonderful team. 

In September 2016, as part of our Step Up programme, we will start 'The Bridge' a programme to further support young people in their transition from primary to secondary school.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in, or know someone who might be - please check out the job spec here.

Applications to be made in writing to:

Clodagh O'Reilly, Solas Project, 40 Marrowbone Lane, Dublin 8

Closing date for applications will be June 15th and interviews to be held the following week. 

Solas Project - Think Tank

On Friday we held our first 'Corporate Think Tank', Solas Project now partners with over 15 local businesses who volunteer and financially support our programmes. We are grateful for how much they have invested in supporting our young people to reach their potential.

The Think Tank is a pilot initiative to challenge our corporate partners to really understand what it means to grow up in a disadvantaged area of Dublin and also brainstorm together to come up with innovative cost effective solutions to support young people and their families. 

The aim was threefold:

- Increase awareness of the social disadvantage Solas Project works to overcome

- Increase awareness of the work of Solas Project

- Increase connection within the corporate sector and the environments they are working in

We were delighted to have Senator Lynn Ruane speak on the day about her experiences growing up and what she believes are the best ways we can ensure each young person is supported to reach their potential. She also shared a very insightful experiment called 'The Privilege Walk' which was run in TCD in April 2016.

After a morning of brainstorming, there were some really creative and engaging solutions put forward as to how we can further support young people and we look forward to investigating them further in the coming months. 

A huge thank you to all our corporate partners that took part in the morning and also to UCD Smurfit for kindly hosting us. 

We look forward to sharing a report on our findings in the coming months!

Volunteer Spotlight - Step Up Volunteer Avril Halligan

Continuing with our celebration of our volunteers this week, we took some time out to catch up with Step Up Volunteer Avril Halligan

When did you start volunteering?

I started volunteering at a young age in my home town with Meals and Wheels, and also when I lived in Galway I was involved for many years volunteering with a homeless shelter for women. I started Volunteering in Dublin with Solas Project in 2014.

 How did you find it at first?

 I hadn't worked in this type of setting before, as a one to one mentor, so both the young person I am mentoring and myself, had to find our feet and get to know each other to build up trust. So the first stages were tentative, but over time a unique friendship develops. 

What have the highlights been for you?

The highlights have been developing that trust and bond with each other,  getting to know each other better, and being in some small way involved in this young persons life. 

 Why do you choose to volunteer?

I choose to volunteer because I feel we all need to contribute something to society and give back some of our free time to our communities. 

What do you get out of it?

I have always really enjoyed volunteering over the years, most especially the people I have met a long the way. It also great to be part of something bigger like the Solas Project grassroots community project, and it is a joy to mentor a young person. 

 How have you seen Step Up impact one or more young people’s lives since you joined?

 I have seen a lot of the young people grow more confident in their abilities and building bonds with their mentors. 

If you are interested in finding out more about any of our volunteering opportunities, please email Emily@solasproject.ie for further information.

An awesome trip to Awesome Walls!

The young people from Step Up along with their mentors recently enjoyed an evening at Awesome Walls to celebrate the end of term.

Awesome Walls is one of the largest indoor climbing centres in Europe with 2,000 square metres of climbing surface and over 200 climbing routes.  The wall certainly presented both challenge and adventure.   Throughout the evening there was wonderful team spirit, as all involved were cheered on, encouraged to overcome fears and celebrated as they journeyed towards the summit.   Some even accepted the blindfold challenge, where they had to climb with a blind fold on, relying only on their mentor or mentee to guide them.  This was a real test of trust!

Trips are a vital part of the programme, rewarding our young people for their hard work and commitment over the last term and providing a relaxed environment where we can all relax, have fun and continue to build relationships. 

Well done to all who took part.  A big thanks to all the staff at Awesome Walls and to our mentors who helped make it a memorable evening.

We are hoping to run a Step Up Summer Project this year to ensure we can continue to support young people over the long Summer holidays with fun structured activities, if you can help make that happen by donating €24 to support one teenager  - please click here to donate - for further details please contact Clodagh