This article is from page 31 of the 2007-05-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 31 JPG
THE students and staff of St Caimin’s Community School in Shannon raised almost €10,000 for Trocaire, during Lent.
The entire school got behind the Lenten project, which involved a number of initiatives. Central to the fundraising was a 24 hour fast, while they also received fantastic support during a flag day in Shannon Town Oilanes
The students also used their en- terprise skills as they sold Trdcaire brooches in the school and this also contributed to the overall collection Ome
School chaplain, Cora Guinnane
said everybody was keen to get in- volved in the initiative.
“A lot of the students were involved in the 24 hour fast on March 10. The first years did a 12 hour fast and the older students did the 24 hours. We put a big drive on in the school,’ said Ms Guinnane.
Everybody was encouraged to raise what he or she could. Some students just raised small sums, while others raised up to €300.
“The emphasis was on creating awareness. Some people are less well off than others. Every little bit makes a difference. Some students may have come in with €5, with oth- ers raising €300,” she said.
In its national campaign, Trocaire
highlighted the rights of females and St Caimin’s staff also encouraged the students to be aware of this.
“We highlighted this in all of our religion classes. The parents also played a role. It would not be pos- sible to do it without their support,” said Ms Guinnane.
“We were thrilled with the support of everybody. They did tremendous work,” she said.
The school has an impeccable record for involvement in charity work. Every year it is involved in the St Vincent de Paul Food Ap- peal, along with the Green Schools initiative. The county dog warden and members of the gardai visit the school every year, which gives stu-
dents an awareness of the importance of the environment around them.
This is Ms Guinnane’s first year at the school and she is delighted with the success of the Trdcaire project.
“It was brilliant, getting to know the students on a different level. They see that there is a lot more to life than academia and this was great fun too. We all spent two days col- lecting money in the town centre and we received a fantastic reception,’ said Ms Guinnane.
Now that the hard work has been done, the money has been counted. Trocaire’s Mary Sweeney, who is the schools co-ordinator, will visit St Caimin’s this week, where she will be presented with a cheque.