We’re thrilled to be announced as an Awardee of the Equity in Education Fund from Rethink Ireland. Rethink Ireland provides cash grants and business support to social innovations who they believe can make a real difference. In 2021 we were awarded €9k as part of the Accelerator programme. Now, in 2022, we are over the moon to be selected as an awardee again. This time the award is spread over three years and the key focus is to support equal access to education for young people from minority groups experiencing disadvantage.
This is great news for us as it will help us to develop our Youthreach programme. Last year we carried out a pilot Youthreach programme which was hugely successful and now with the help of the Rethink funding we can continue to roll it out to more Youthreach centres across the country. The B!G Idea Youthreach programme aims to empower disadvantaged youth with the most in-demand skills in the world – creative skills. By bridging the gap between industry and education, learners work on co-created projects supported by mentors in every sector across Ireland. Learners develop critical thinking, problem solving, empathy and communication skills, working on issues that are important to them.
Last year in the pilot we were able to identify:
– A significant increase in 100% of students’ confidence, engagement and improved group dynamic.
– Development of creative thinking, communication and presentation skills: “students are more willing to communicate their ideas. We got great expressions of how they felt in different situations”.
– Positive impact of Mentors feedback on student motivation.
– Development of primary research skills supporting students to engage with their local community.
Other awardees of this amazing funding were Ballycommon Telework and Training Centre and Offaly Travellers Movement which provides training and community services to marginalised and vulnerable groups; the Donegal Travellers Project which addresses the educational disadvantage experienced by Traveller and Roma children and young people living in rural Donegal and Teen-Turn which addresses the numbers of third level qualifications, particularly those relating to STEM, attained by women from underserved communities.
We’re clearly amongst some other great forward-thinking and hugely motivated social enterprises. Thank you to Rethink Ireland for giving us this opportunity. We will work very hard to ensure that the funding will make a big difference to the lives and futures of our young people.
