It's been quite a while!

It's been quite a time since we've shared a blog post, it's been a really busy term with lots of great stuff going on! As we move into the last term of the year, we thought it would be a great time to share a little bit from one of our wonderful interns Lorna. Lorna has been with us since September, after taking a year out from college.

She has been such a great support to us, and the kids just love her!

If you are interested in pursuing an internship with Solas Project, drop Elizabeth an email!

In her own words, here's an insight into Lornas time at Solas Project:

Starting Solas Project, I had absolutely no idea what to expect, apart from what Emily, the volunteer manager, had told me during my induction interview.

I began with a completely open mind. I will always remember my first day at Solas Project, walking into an office full of smiling office staff members and interns who were more than happy to have me on board for the next year, and I knew everything was going to be alright, my nerves were soon a thing of the past and I was thrown straight in, making a chicken curry for the kids dinner in the kitchen.

I have had a great experience so far and the reason my journey with Solas Project has been so fabulous so far is simply because of the staff, and the children I work with. I love being an intern with Solas Project as you never know what to expect every morning when you walk into the offices, you could be doing anything from carrying benches up the road to local primary schools or blowing up balloons, planning some fabulous activities for the kids or putting your culinary skills to use in the kitchen, working on your tag rugby skills with Ste in local primary schools or preparing for the day ahead at club.

Every afternoon brings something new also, our afternoons at club are packed with fun things for the kids, and of course the homework. I have been fortunate to work as an intern with both Junior and Senior Afterschools club and I enjoy every minute of it, every day brings its own challenges and amazing, unforgettable moments – each child that I have had the opportunity to work with has their own unique personality and traits, and that is what makes them special to me, and I have enjoyed creating such a strong bond with them.

Solas Project is of a huge benefit to each child’s life, from working here over the past 7 months I have seen so many children that I work with grow in confidence – helping the children to become the best that they can be is what we strive to do and I feel like the children hugely appreciate us for this, even though they may not show it.

What I have learned over the past few months at Solas Project are things that I will use in my future life as a primary school teacher, it has been an invaluable experience and I have made memories with both the staff and the children that I will never forget.

I would hugely recommend interning or volunteering with Solas Project as it is an invaluable experience, as it is a place full of joy, laughter, and all things great in life.  Solas Project has done nothing but inspire and encourage me, whilst also challenging me in a lot of different ways.

I will finish by leaving the following quote, which I feel personally is my experience with Solas Project. “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Thanks for reading, Lorna x

It's not all hardwork, Lorna (pictured on the right with Sean & Andrew two other interns) still gets time for some modelling work in Dublin 8!

It's not all hardwork, Lorna (pictured on the right with Sean & Andrew two other interns) still gets time for some modelling work in Dublin 8!

Solas Business Community Final

The tension was mounting as our Solas Business young entrepreneurs took to the stage last Friday morning to pitch their ideas to our 'dragons'.

Solas Business has been running in 5 of our corporate partners over the past couple of months, teaming up 5th class students from local schools with mentors to come up with a solution to a problem the young people face in life today.

Each school is paired with one of our corporate partners, the programme runs for 4 weeks in each school, with the 5th week seeing the students travel to the boardroom of their corporate partner to present their ideas. A winner is selected who goes on to compete at the Community Final. 

The standard was exceptionally high, each pitch was polished, confidently delivered and the groups handled tricky questions from our 'dragons' exceptionally well.

Honourable runner up was Francis St School with 'The Penculator' a very handy pen with a holographic calculator. Their mentors from Bank of America Merrill Lynch were extremely impressed with the lads and very much enjoyed their first time involvement with the programme.

Runners up from Francis St CBS with their mentors from Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Runners up from Francis St CBS with their mentors from Bank of America Merrill Lynch

 

Alas, there can be only one winner, and after much deliberation, Synge St school were the winners with their very innovative idea 'The Saviour Watch'. A multi purpose watch which has a whole host of features including the ability to report bullying. Synge St were partnered with Mainstream Renewable Energy, one of our longterm supporters. I'm not sure who was more excited about the win, the kids or their mentors! The winning school win a €400 voucher to spend at their school. There were already some tough negotiations on what it will be spent on!

Winning Group from Synge St School with their mentors from Mainstream Renewable Energy and the 'Dragons'

Winning Group from Synge St School with their mentors from Mainstream Renewable Energy and the 'Dragons'

A huge thank you to our wonderful 'Dragons' who had a very tough decision. Thanks to Sabina Cotter from Irish Youth Foundation, Bill Hutchinson from Ebay, Grainne Madden from GMJ Associates and Derek Tynan a long time supporter of our work. They were wonderfully supportive and encouraging to all.

'Dragons' - Sabina Cotter, Bill Hutchinson, Grainne Madden, Derek Tynan 

'Dragons' - Sabina Cotter, Bill Hutchinson, Grainne Madden, Derek Tynan 

We know it can be tough not coming out as the winning team, however each presenter went away with a goody bag kindly provided by Ebay so there were smiles all round.

Goody bags sponsored by Ebay

Goody bags sponsored by Ebay

Solas Business is part of our Solas@School initiative working to increase the self-worth, character and motivation of each young person and provide exposure to a working environment.

A huge thank you to our corporate partners who took part; Mainstream Renewable Energy, Marin Software, McCann Fitzgerald, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BlackRock Financial Services.

If your company is interested in taking part in Solas Business or any of our employee engagement programmes, please contact Clodagh O'Reilly (Clodagh@solasproject.ie)

Scoil Treasa Naofa and their mentors from Marin Software

Scoil Treasa Naofa and their mentors from Marin Software

St Endas and their mentors from McCann Fitzgerald

St Endas and their mentors from McCann Fitzgerald

Stanhope St and their mentors from BlackRock Financial Services

Stanhope St and their mentors from BlackRock Financial Services

Synge St and their mentors from Mainstream Renewable Energy

BlackRock kicking off with the next generation of Entrepreneurs

Session 1 went really well this week with Stanhope Primary School and new corporate partners BlackRock.

Solas Business is part of our Solas@School programme with a focus on three themes, building self-worth, character and motivation. These themes come together as a group of skills that develop the resilience and tools needed to successfully navigate the transition from primary to post-primary education.

In Solas Business we ask the kids - what is a problem you are facing and tasked to create a solution to address it. We've had some amazing ideas, from Bullybug, to Dog Lifts, a homework machine (who wouldn't love that!!), solar powered mobile phones (how do we not have these already)  to the 'Poover' (a personal favourite of mine!)

This week the kids learnt about the importance of first impressions, good eye contact & a firm handshake. They also kick started the innovation process and started to think about their business idea.

Thanks so much to our new friends in BlackRock, looking forward to seeing how things develop over the next couple of weeks!

If your company would like to get involved with Solas@School please email Clodagh O'Reilly - Clodagh@solasproject.ie

A day out in UCD for Solas College

We are delighted to partner with UCD for our Solas College programme this year.

Solas College is part of our Solas@school initiative, raising expectations of young people about their future and tackling some of the perceived (or real) barriers to going on to 3rd level education.

Last Friday we headed out to UCD with Stanhope St Primary School and corporate volunteers from BlackRock to check out the campus and get a glimpse into college life starting with the science lab!

A huge thank you to UCD for having us out, looking forward to the next trip.