A group of teenagers from a Belfast school have been named as the winners of an award from The King’s Trust after working together to create and distribute hampers for homeless shelters in the city.
The King’s Trust and TK Maxx & Homesense Awards recognise young people who have succeeded against the odds, improved their chances in life and had a positive impact on their local community. St Joseph’s College scooped the JD Foundation Community Impact award, which recognises a group of young people who have made a positive contribution to their local community or school and have developed their own personal skills through teamwork.
Shea, who is a pupil at the school, said: "Completing the homeless project has made me feel very proud of myself because I know that I have helped someone else feel valued and loved. I have a better understanding of the difficulties faced by homeless people and hope I can continue to help others in the future."
The pupils in St Joseph’s College Achieve Club, who all come from different backgrounds, are proof that it only takes a small group of people to have a big impact. Students today face a number of challenges, yet the pupils of St Joseph’s demonstrate that hard work, compassion and working together can lead to change, both in terms of personal development and within the wider community.
Achieve, delivered by schools in partnership with The King’s Trust, is a flexible personal development programme designed to support students to succeed in education. Young people work together on practical learning projects, designed to boost confidence as well as improving self-esteem, attainment, behaviour and attendance.
Working together on a community project is a core element of the programme, and the Achieve Club at St Joseph’s College unanimously decided that they wanted to support the local homeless population. The group decided to create hampers filled with helpful products that could be donated to homeless shelters in Belfast. This meant overcoming personal fears and barriers to work together, plan, and promote the project.
Another pupil, Sienna, said: “This project helped us all to overcome anxieties around public speaking as we had to speak in assemblies and ask for contributions. We were passionate about raising awareness and didn’t want to let anyone down by not coming into school.
"We created 100 ‘welcome hampers’ that were distributed across Belfast on World Homelessness Day. We’re so proud of what we achieved."
John Mulholland, the teacher who runs the Achieve Club at St Joseph’s, added: "The pupils showcased a level of maturity and compassion in their work that made me so proud of them. They undertook every aspect of the project with a clear focus on providing not just material support but much more importantly; kindness, dignity, value and self-respect for the person receiving the ‘Welcome Hamper’.
"They have made a significant positive impact in their community and for this they deserve the highest of praise."
Rebekah Barr from Simon Community, the charity helped by the pupils said: "We were very impressed by the sheer volume of items the young people gathered. Through their generosity, support and enthusiasm, the young people have ensured access to essential hygiene items for individuals experiencing homelessness. We are incredibly grateful to them. They are a credit to St Joseph’s College and to themselves."
On winning the JD Foundation Community Impact Award, the pupils said: “We are all so excited to win this award and are so happy to see that our project had a positive impact on the homeless community in Belfast! It feels amazing to know that we have made our school and our teachers proud.
"We hope that our actions will inspire other young people to realise that they too have the ability to make a difference in their local community by providing respect, kindness and dignity to those who need it most."
Adrian Faloona from the JD Foundation added: "On behalf of everyone at the JD Foundation, I am pleased to congratulate the pupils from St Joseph’s College for winning the JD Foundation Community Impact Award in Northern Ireland.
"They showed determination to work as a team and come together to have a huge impact within their local community. They should be very proud. Well done all!"
Youth charity The King’s Trust gives young people the skills and confidence to get their lives on track. Three in four young people helped by The King’s Trust in the past five years have moved into work, training or education.
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