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Successful applicants to Mason Hayes & Curran-backed education fund named

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Successful applicants to Mason Hayes & Curran-backed education fund named

Successful applicants to the 2017 Engage and Educate Fund were presented with their awards by Education Minister Richard Bruton yesterday.

The €450,000 fund - a three-year partnership between Mason Hayes & Curran, Social Innovation Fund Ireland and the Government - supports local projects that empower people through education.

The 2017 awardees are:

  • Ready Steady Circus, a ten-week programme using circus arts as an alternative method of education for DEIS school students;

  • Pieta House Resilience Academy, a six-week school-based programme that builds skills in resilience with second year students at secondary school;

  • Intercultural Language Service, a flexible language learning experience that promotes social inclusion amongst migrants within their communities;

  • and Blossom Gateway, a programme that supports people with intellectual disabilities to transition from second level education to the workplace or third level education.

    • Mr Bruton said: “My Department is delighted to support this initiative which seeks to support innovation and growth in access to education. I am especially pleased to see the diversity of the winning projects, which work with primary school pupils, second level students, and adults, including migrants and people with disabilities. I congratulate Mason Hayes & Curran and Social Innovation Fund Ireland, which was established by the government in 2013 to support projects that improve life outcomes, on their visionary support for these impactful projects.”

    Declan Black, managing partner at Mason Hayes & Curran, said: “We were inspired to create the Engage and Educate Fund by our shared belief that improved access to education can have a positive impact on life outcomes. We have seen first-hand the difference that access to support and resources can make in local communities.

    “The calibre of applications from projects around the country this year was outstanding and I would like to congratulate all of the applicants, as well as our four award winners, for the ongoing work that they are doing in their own communities to empower people through education.”

    Deirdre Mortell, CEO of Social Innovation Fund Ireland (SIFI), added: “We believe that we have found four outstanding projects that are going to create real change in their local communities and, most importantly, improve the lives of those who participate in them. I’d like to congratulate our four award winners, who will each spend the next three months working with the SIFI team and our expert network, to develop their skills and position their projects for growth.”

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