Step Up Girls Over-night

Step Up is a one-to-one mentoring club for teenagers and has been running since 2011. There are currently 36 young people involved in Step Up who all meet with their mentors one evening each week. Step Up was originally started to help young people with the transition from primary to secondary school but since then has continued to grow and now consists of students from 1st to 6th year. We believe that in order to tackle educational disadvantage young people need not only academic support, but support in their personal development, including a focus on their self-worth and confidence in their own abilities.

Last Thursday the Step Up Girls departed on their annual over-night trip which is always lots of fun and a great way to build the young people's characters. At 10.30am Thursday morning the group met and headed off on their adventure for the night. On their arrival to Knockree Youth Hostel in Enniskerry the girls jumped straight in to activities organised by EcoAdventure Ireland. There was a huge variety of outdoor activites to keep them busy including grass sledding, archery, obstacle courses, paintball shooting and attempting the climbing wall which was a lot harder than it looks! We wrapped up our hectic day by having a chilled out movie night with some yummy treats. The following morning we hopped up and had breakfast before going horse riding before it was time to get back on the bus and head home. It was such a wonderful day and evening and we already can't wait until next year! 

End of year parties @ The Club

This week marked the end of year for The Club. The Club is our Primary After Schools programme and consists of three different groups comprised of Junior, Senior and Transition depending on what class the children are in. 

The Club supports children to grow up to be healthy, confident and caring members of their community. The children are collected from Monday to Thursday each week of the school year and brought to one of our three After School's locations. During their time there, they all sit around a table to have a home-cooked meal before getting some help with their homework and then finishing off their afternoon with a fun activity. 

As school has finished up for the Summer holidays, we decided to throw an end of year party with each of our clubs this week. All of the children (and adults!) had an absolute ball and, luckily for us, the weather was on our side so we even got to have some water balloon fights and face painting outside. This time of year marks a new beginning for some with 5 children graduating from our Junior Afterschools into our Senior Afterschools and 4 graduating from Senior Afterschools into our Transition Afterschools. As well as 3 young people making the big move in to secondary school in September. 

We are very proud of what our young people have achieved in their time with us and look forward to following their progress in the future, they are all destined for great things!

John O'Connor-A Volunteer's Story

Volunteers are the heart and soul of Solas Project, and without their generosity and skills it would be impossible for us to achieve our vision.  Therefore, we want to take this opportunity to thank our many volunteers for giving up their valuable time. John O’Connor, a loyal and dedicated volunteer who works in The Yard shares his experience of getting involved with Solas Project.

In early 2014 John’s daughter noticed an advertisement for Solas Project and saw that we were looking for volunteers. John read the ad, liked what he saw and responded, and the rest as they say is history!

Before Solas Project, John spent thirty five years working as a woodwork, construction and technical drawing teacher.  John found teaching very rewarding and enjoyed the academic year working in Ireland and then took memorable holidays in America, working hard and having plenty of fun along the way.

When John retired after a lifetime of working, he found himself at a bit of a loose end.  So when he found Solas Project it was a great way for him to pass on his experience and expertise. He stated that he gives his time willingly to Solas Project and gets enormous personal satisfaction back from his time here. John says that he really enjoys the company of fellow volunteers and the Solas Project staff.  His time and skills are greatly appreciated and he believes there is a real feel good factor in giving something back by volunteering.

After many years working and teaching, John has accumulated an array of useful, practical and transferable skills. And whilst these hard skills are extremely important and form the bedrock of what the Yard is all about, John also passes on vital soft skills that can guide a meaningful change in the people he helps to mentor week after week.  John claims that one of the most satisfying aspects of volunteering is seeing the same students come back week after week, and seeing them change and grow. 

We are so grateful every day to have wonderful volunteers like John and many others, so here's to you guys! We couldn't do it without you.

Solas Project Tag Blitz

Waking up at 5.40am and leaping out of bed to check the weather, is believe me - not a regular occurrence for Solas Project staff, however - when you are expecting over 250 5th & 6th class students for an outdoor event, it's mandatory!

Despite a shakey start weather-wise, Terenure Rugby Club became the centre for our annual Tag Rugby Blitz. With young people coming from 9 local schools and corporate volunteers from Google, Web Summit, Savills and Maples & Calder it was a hive of activity.

Building up confidence pre-match

The Solas Project Tag Blitz is the final part of our Solas Sports programme. Over the course of the year, Solas Project run 6 week Solas Sports programmes for 5th & 6th class students in the local area. Starting off with basic skills and fun games, we move onto introducing the tag belts (this is a great week for the kids) and we end the final 2 weeks teaching them about the dreaded "backwards pass".

Throughout the weeks, alongside sports, the young people take part in sessions on teamwork, the power of words, courage, identity, choices & commitment.

6th Class match

We teach the kids the value of team-mates, that we should always try and say things that build people up and not knock them down, that we are all different, but we embrace the fact we all bring different talents and abilities to our team, that choices have consequences, and that with commitment comes reward.

We never keep scores at these matches, it is all about taking part and the tag blitz was no different. The young people played 4 matches each, no winners, no losers just fun!

Our wonderful volunteers play such an important role on the day, they are someone of good character, good example, a good sportsman/woman, an encourager, a motivational player when the team is feeling down and someone who watches out for the kids that aren't getting involved and brings them in. We are so grateful to all our corporate volunteers that helped us on the day.

There was a final game between Google and WebSummit volunteers, where the pressure was on for performance, as you know we don't keep score so we can't tell you who won (ahem it was WebSummit).

A huge thank you to: All the Principals & teachers we worked with through the year, Simon Bewley, Dylan and Stuart from Irish Tag Rugby Association for reffing & providing the equipment on the day, Terenure Rugby Football Club, John Bourke & Will O'Reilly our wonderful photographer who generously volunteered his time, Sam Whelan-Curtin our videographer & Dublin Bus for transport! Takes a lot to get 250 young people together!

Horse riding!

Yesterday our Transition after school Club were delighted to be taken down to Killegar Stables by a group from our Charity Partners Hilton Hotels.

Horse-riding is a real treat for our young people and we were blessed with the fantastic sunshine, a perfect day!

Combined with a picnic and treats, our young people got the chance to take on a new challenge and enjoy a new experience.

We are so grateful to all at the Double Tree Hilton for sharing this great adventure with us!