We are the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) supporting the pupils, parents and staff of All Saints College, Belfast. All Saints College is an all ability, non-selective school in west Belfast.
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Who are we?
Friends of CBS* is the Parent Teacher Association supporting the work of pupils, parents and staff in All Saints College, Belfast.
*we are currently working through the process of changing our name to Friends of All Saints College
Why are we crowdfunding?
Our PTA seeks to support the pupils and parents of All Saints College, Belfast , in exploring additional avenues to enhance the curriculum and provide our pupils and their families with a range of additional resources and opportunities that would not normally be available to them.
Over 72% of our pupils are entitled to FSM and are drawn from some of the most deprived areas of Northern Ireland. Many more live close to this line. Moreover, approximately 12% of our student body are newcomer pupils, the vast majority of whom are refugees or asylum seekers. The charity seeks to address the pernicious effects of poverty with this broad cohort , to mitigate the effects of educational underachievement, low self esteem and exclusion.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. If you want to run your own fundraiser to support us, maybe a sponsored activity or similar, use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!
How we’ll spend the money raised
With our initial step into crowd funding we seek to re-engage our pupils in organised sport and sporting clubs. A considerable amount of our pupils either missed a crucial stage in their social development and community sports engagement through the pandemic, or have disengaged form sports clubs as a direct result of the extended lock downs.
The money raised will be used to support our female pupils to engage with local camogie clubs. Initially, it will be used to equip our prospective camogs and enable them to develop their skills and confidence in an after school's setting. To do so we will provide each participant with helmets, hurls, sliotars and training materials.
We will then focus on settling each young camog in a local club, mentoring their initial contact with the clubs in supported training session with mentors from All Saints College, so as to ensure the maximum hope of retention in their chosen GAA club.
Community impact
Participating in sports can help increase civic engagement for our young pupils, engaging pupils and families into local clubs, increasing social bonds and meaningful connections within our community.
Mentorship can be beneficial towards both the mentor and the mentee and may help build positive role models and relationships.
The ongoing health benefits associated with sports support our youth in developing as healthy adults within the broader community. Moreover, the benefits of individual metal health and well being are well documented and provide a solid foundation for broader societal health and well being.
As a diversionary activity, when our young people are engaged in local clubs, they are less likely to become involved and any form of negative or anti-social behaviour.
We believe this programme can only impact the community in a positive manner.