Five teenage business women from Sligo are bracing themselves for success after being crowned the winners of the Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2014, organised and run by Foróige, for their business ‘Brace Yourself’. The group were amongst the 1,500 participants from low income communities who set up 600 businesses as part of this year’s Foróige NFTE entrepreneurship programme, generating a collective turnover of €250,000.
Will Donnelly from St. Mary’s Secondary School in Glasnevin has won the Certified Entrepreneurship Trainer International Competition 2014. He has been teaching the Foróige Youth Entrepreneurship programme since 2010 and in this time he has brought approximately 150 students through to graduation. Will has enthusiastically brought the real business world into his classroom by arranging visits to local businesses, bringing in guest speakers to talk about how to survive in the business world, attended numerous trade fares and enabled his students to set up post office accounts for their businesses. Many of his students come from disadvantaged areas.
Ciana Cooney of Bullaun Foróige Club, Galway
Getting elected on to the Reference Panel was a shock. I was over the moon and was intrigued to see what I was letting myself in for. Coming from a small Foróige Club it was the first time that someone from our Club got elected. The night before, as I packed my bag, I began to feel anxious and nervous. I am an outgoing and confident person but this experience was going to be something I had never done before.
I had no idea the effect this weekend would turn out to have on me. From once we set foot in Dublin it became clear that this weekend would be one that would never be forgotten. As we all gathered for dinner it was obvious that everyone was unique and the nicest group of people you will ever meet. The conversation flowed and it felt as if we all had known each other all our lives.
Anne & Niamh:
Hi, my name is Anne and I’m a Big Sister to Niamh. Niamh and I met for the first time on March 12th 2012. The two years in which I’ve known Niamh have flown by and we’ve built a really solid relationship. I decided to volunteer with the BBBS programme as I love working with young people. BBBS gave me the opportunity to do this while hopefully helping a young person by giving them some time out each week. Niamh is now 12. She’s always happy, chatty and enthusiastic. She’s never demanding and is always content to just hang out and catch up on each other’s news. At this stage, I think she’s given up suggesting that we could go and stalk Niall Horan’s house in Mullingar!
Foróige’s Communications Department is continually curating Foróige stories to be shared online and in the media. Here is a short guide to creating content which Foróige can share on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube on our website and more. Frances Macken is Foróige's Online Communications Officer (email [email protected]) and Cathy Gray is Foróige's Media & Marketing Officer (email [email protected]). We are continually seeking good Foróige stories. Why? Because they depict the transformative nature of Foróige. The spirit of volunteering. The confidence and belief provided to young people. Communities brought together and strengthened.
In February 2014 we conducted our first major volunteer survey for many years. It was designed to give a voice to volunteers across the organisation, from Foróige Clubs to Big Brother Big Sister to Project Volunteers and 7 other roles. Some 1,042 people completed this historic survey. This was the biggest single action ever by Foróige volunteers. In it we heard from leaders we don’t usually hear from – as about 50% of those who answered it are with us for less than 2 years.
The results of the survey will enable the organisation to best respond to volunteer needs in their role with Foróige. A big thank you to all those who filled it in and those who encouraged others to do so. The analysis will take some time, but here are some of the early findings.
