St Angela’s College Sligo Student Volunteer Award Celebrates 13,590 Euro In Kind Time to Community

26/04/2017

St Angela’s College, Sligo jointly with NUI Galway presents the 2017 President’s Award for Student Volunteering at a special ceremony on Tuesday 25th April from 12pm.  The 2017 recipients have volunteered in a range of local community projects, fundraised for a variety of causes and participated in campus mentoring programmes. The ALIVE Certificate is awarded to students that demonstrate a commitment to volunteering and reflect on their learning from the experience via an online portfolio. 

Dr Ann Tahany, College President said, “We are delighted to celebrate the student’s commitments as we strive to encourage an ethos of student volunteering and engagement with community activities.”  Partnering with the Sligo Volunteer Centre, the event is part of the European Capital of Volunteering Sligo 2017 calendar of a wide variety of events for enabling and supporting voluntary effort.

Estimated at minimum wage forty-five awarded students gave an average of thirty four hours this year equating to 13,590 euro of in kind time to social, environmental, health and education programmes. Lorraine Tansey, ALIVE Student Volunteering Programme Coordinator, said “Through campus based volunteering roles like mentoring and class representative, students are building democracy skills like decision making, debating, listening and referrals. There is a real campus community of voluntary effort that also extends to local and international volunteering.”

Gráinne O'Toole said, "Mentoring ensures a fluid transition for students leaving second level education and entering third level education. It provides a local and small community for first years who may be nervous/homesick in making new connections with us and other mentees in their year group and making them feel more at ease."

Students this year volunteered with Samaritans, Irish Girl Guides, Fáilte Isteach Conversation Classes, Foróige and Special Olympics to mention a few. Charlotte Norris student volunteer with Fáilte Isteach Conversation said, "I learn so much from my students about other cultures and countries.” 

Pictured Claire Noone, St. Angela's College, Sligo student volunteer who made a significant contribution to the campus through the Students' Union and was shortlisted for the national Student Achievement Awards 

More at the NUI Galway Press Website