Teens share €10k social issues fund
Students from three Cork schools secured €2,100 in funding to help improve social issues in their communities recently. The plans involved include the creation of a clothing line, a rejuvenated outdoor area and a garda vetting card.
The money was secured through the Social Innovation Den hosted by Young Social Innovators in Cork city.
The students, who have been working on projects through Young Social Innovators since September, impressed a panel of dragons with their creative ideas to affect positive change in their communities and wider society.
The team from Davis College, Mallow, received €800 for their project, Mental Health: The Ripple Effect, which aims to make their town more “mental health-friendly”.
The students intend to invest their funding in creating a clothing line, a pop-up shop and permanent leaflet stand to raise awareness about mental health in their community.
Students from North Presentation Secondary School in Cork city were awarded €600 for their project Our Open Space Peaceful Picnic Garden with plans to rejuvenate an unused space to create an outdoor area in their school for students and staff.
The team from Beara Community School, Castletownbere, pitched their project, Paperless Protection on creating a national garda vetting card. The team secured €700 for their campaign to improve the vetting process in Ireland.
Seven projects were invited to pitch at the YSI Den in Cork for a share of this year’s €10,000 social innovation fund. Young Social Innovators hosts the Den every year to support teenagers’ ideas to tackle social issues in an effort to create a fairer, more equal and sustainable world. A further eleven projects pitched at a second YSI Den event in Dublin.
The teams pitching at this year’s YSI Dens addressed a range of issues, including mental health and wellbeing, revitalising green spaces, reducing plastic consumption, social inclusion and disability access, care for older people, sustainable fashion and climate change.
Over 7,000 students throughout Ireland are currently involved in similar projects with Young Social Innovators in 2020.
CEO of Young Social Innovators, Rachel Collier, said: “It is fantastic to see young innovators developing and implementing creative solutions to create real change on the issues that matter to them. The teams presenting at this year’s Den have impressed and inspired with their creative ideas, professional pitches and plans for effecting positive change in their communities and beyond. We cannot wait to see how their social innovation projects progress with the support they have been granted today, provided by a generous philanthropic supporter of Young Social Innovators.”