Fundraising
Fundraising is an important pare of life in Sligo grammar School. All year groups are actively involved in raising funds for a wide variety of charities, many of them local. During Transition Year students put a lot of effort into fundraising. Whole -school activities are organised each year to raise funds for charities.
Fundraising and Charity Work
2022 – 2023
DIVERSITY SLIGO
On Friday 24th March Sligo Grammar School held a Diversity Day. This special event was organised by Ms McGuinness and a committee of students from across the school.All students contributed €2 to a fundraiser for Diversity Sligo a local group which helps refugees and asylum seekers find their feet in Sligo.
IN MY SHOES 2023
FUNDRAISING FOR ST. CECILIA’S
2021/2022
CHRISTMAS FOOD APPEAL
At this time of the year we remember the many families who struggle to make ends meet, so, once again, Sligo Grammar School held its annual Christmas Food Appeal in aid of Sligo Social Services. This project has been in operation for many years now and has always enjoyed a great response from our students, parents, staff and friends who donate gifts of food and toiletries to the Appeal. The donations are collected and delivered to the Social Services who distribute it to needy families throughout Sligo. We thank all who contributed for their generosity and wish everyone a happy and peaceful Christmas.
CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY
On Friday 10th December Sligo Grammar School held its annual Christmas Jumper Day. As ever the day was used as a fundraising opportunity, as well as a chance to kick of the festive season with a bit of cheer and good will! This year the chosen charity was Self Help Africa and the money raised will go towards reforestation projects throughout Africa. The TY Green Schools Committee organised the day as part of their ongoing drive towards promoting a sustainable future for everyone. The day was a great success with students and teachers donning their ugliest Christmas jumpers for the cause. The students contributed €2 each for the charity – and for the chance to wear something other than school uniform! . €645 was raised which equates to the planting of over 3,000 trees! To thank the school for the great contribution Self Help Africa gave 6 native Irish trees to be planted in the school grounds. Rowan, hazel, hawthorn, birch and alder trees were planted on December 16th. Well done to all who got involved.
CAKE SALE
On Thursday 16th December the 3rd year CSPE class ran a cake sale as part of their Junior Cycle course. The project was organised and run by the students themselves with help and advice from their teacher. The cake sale was in aid of the children of Madagascar, one of the first places to be impacted by famine brought on by the effects of Climate Change. The sale was held in a very strictly organised fashion. A queueing system was devised where the students could safely social distance and all cakes were individually packaged. The students also organised a card-reader for contactless payment. €476 was collected for the charity. Well done to all the third years and especially to the organising committee, Siofra O’Donoghue Symmons, Dara Kilcommons and Rachel Craig.
FANCY DRESS FUNDRAISER:
Just as the school broke up for the mid-term break virtually the whole school population got into fancy dress for Hallowe’en. This annual charity fundraiser was a fun-filled way to wind up the half-term, and it was organised by the Young Social Innovators group (YSI) from TY Students and staff got involved, coming to school in a vast array of fancy dress. We had Jedi knights, punks, Mario Bros, Grim Reapers, witches and wizards galore as well as dinosaurs, gypsies and pirates. Prizes were awarded to the best fancy dress in each class as well as to the best turned-out teachers, Ms Hynes, Mr Staunton, Mr Lynch, Miss Hall and Mr Geraghty. The group raised almost €800 for UNICEF Afghanistan Children’s Appeal. Well done to all.
JERSEY DAY:
Transition Year students ran their first fundraising drive of the year on Friday 15th October when they organised the annual Jersey Day for the charity Goal. Students from all years donated €2 for the pleasure of wearing a team jersey for the day. Teachers also got involved and there were a lot of Mayo jerseys on show this year! The school collected over €880 for the charity and everyone enjoyed a day out of uniform!
RORY BEST MEETS SGS RUGBY PLAYERS:
On Monday 13th September former Ireland Rugby Captain, Rory Best, reached Sligo on the sixth day of his 180 mile walk in aid of Cancer Fund for Children. As Rory passed by Sligo Grammar School the whole school population turned out to cheer the rugby legend on. Sligo Grammar School rugby players were honoured to be invited to Kingsbridge Hospital to meet Rory Best, and one of the SGS front row rugby players, Oisín Lawley, presented a cheque for €1,000 to Rory. This fantastic contribution to the Cancer Fund for Children was collected from SGS students and staff. Rory remembered Sligo Grammar School well from his school days, when, in 2000, as a student in Portadown College, he played senior rugby against SGS. The Portadown school lost to a very strong Grammar School team, which subsequently went on to win the Connacht Schools Cup that year. The present teams were delighted to meet the Irish rugby legend.
2019 – 2020
FUNDRAISING FOR CONCERN
On Monday 20th January TY students met representatives of the charity Concern to present a cheque for €553.50 The TYs raised this money last term by going on a 24 hour fast. Fundraising is central to the TY philosophy in SGS. The class raises funds for many good causes, targeting both local and National charities. The bulk of the monies raised will be presented to the various charities in May at the TY Awards Night.
FUNDRAISING FOR “MAKE A WISH IRELAND”
Our Irish Angus Finalists who continued to work towards the ultimate final of the competition in the Autumn….
They held a fundraiser for Make A Wish Ireland by asking people to donate to their GoFundMe page. “As a team we decided to fundraise for Make A Wish Ireland as becoming one of the five finalists in the Certified Irish Angus Beef schools competition was our wish and it came true! We have had the opportunity to experience so many amazing things in this competition and we are so grateful, that’s why we’d like to give the opportunity to a child with an illness to have their wish come true.” A fantastic €3,300 was raised.
Watch the video clip on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/
SAVING WILDLIFE!
Last Winter the reports of devastating bush fires in Australia circulated world- wide. SGS Science teacher, Sandra Tiernan worked for several years just outside Sydney and she was particularly affected by the news of the devastation caused to the eco system there. She had seen, first-hand, the damage caused by fire, as the school she was working in had to be evacuated in late 2003 because of bush fires. It takes months for the eco-system to recover. “It really upsets me to see the plight of the baby kangaroos, wallabies, koalas and other marsupials who have lost their mothers to the fires.” she said. This was the inspiration behind Sligo Grammar School’s Pouch Project. Sandra contacted Australian animal rescue charities and arranged to supply specially made pouches to help the charities care for the wounded and orphaned animals. The pouches mimic the marsupial pouch and provide the babies with comfort and warmth as they recover. An afternoon “Sewing Bee” was planned and two rooms were set up with sewing machines and work tables. Students from 5th year, along with several teachers, organised a production line, cutting fabric and sewing pouches. By the end of the afternoon about 25 pouches were made to be sent to NSW. Alongside the Sewing Bee, the 5th yr. students ran a bake sale to raise funds. €556 was raised and was split between two small animal rescue centres in some of the severely affected areas “I was absolutely delighted with the response from staff and students to both the bake sale and the sewing bee, and of course the many parents and students who baked cookies and cakes for us!” said Sandra. Thanks also to those who donated fabric for the pouches. We couldn’t have done it without them all!” After a few weeks word came back that the pouches were put to good use and a lovely thank-you card came to the school from one of the Wildlife sanctuaries. PHOTOS ARE HERE
MOVEMBER 2019!
Sligo Grammar School Senior Rugby Team once again grew facial hair for charity! The boys went about growing a variety of beards, moustaches and goatees in aid of the Movember charity. The charity raises funds to increase awareness of mens health among men themselves and it funds various mens health charities. The senior boys rose over €900 for the charity.
CHRISTMAS FOOD APPEAL
As ever Sligo Grammar School ran its annual Food Appeal before Christmas, amassing a huge amount of foodstuffs for sligo Social Services. Well done all!
2018 – 2019
A MATTER OF RECORD!
In September the word came through that Sligo Grammar School is now, officially, a World Record holder!
On Friday 4th May the whole population of Sligo Grammar School got together to attempt create the largest image of a human house. As well as being a record attempt, this was fundraiser in aid of Focus Ireland. 402 students and staff, wearing red, blue or yellow ponchos and hair nets gathered on the hockey pitch and formed the image of a red, yellow and blue house. They had to maintain their position for 5 minutes and, counted down by Mr Cradock, everyone managed to do just that. Over €2,000 donated to Focus Ireland, and for the staff and students it was a fun project that created a great sense of community within the school. Now we are delighted to see that we are featured on the Guinness World record site with a new World Record ! Visit the Guinness World Record site and see Sligo Grammar School’s achievement!
€1,100 RAISED BY SGS MOVEMBER!
In November Sligo Grammar School’s Senior Cup Rugby Team did “Movember”. After the month the team had raised a fantastic €1, 110.
Lush beards and moustaches were attempted. Some, of course, were more successful than others! Best beard award had to go to Brian West, Captain of the team with Matthew Early a close second! On the moustache front, the prize had to go to Lucas Codyre and kudos to Taylor Anderson for his ‘tache!
As to the rest of the squad…full marks for effort, and there’s always next year!
Thanks to all the people who donated to the cause and supported the team’s project.
CHRISTMAS FOOD APPEAL
A fantastic response to our Christmas Food Appeal in aid of Sligo Social Services. Funds for Sligo Social Services were also raised at the annual Carol Service.
FUNDS FOR NW HOSPICE
As part of Wellbeing Week Sligo Grammar School held a whole-school coffee afternoon in aid of North West Hospice. The event was in memory of our dear colleague and friend Patricia Bourke, who passed away earlier in the school year. The catering staff, teaching staff and students came together to make the afternoon a success. Friends of Sligo Grammar School also dropped in during the afternoon and Patricia’s family also came along to the event. The school raised over €1,160 for the North West Hospice, and the cheque was presented at Assembly . Thanks to all the people who supported this wonderful cause.
LCVP FUNDRAISES FOR NW HOSPICE
Earlier in the term the Leaving Cert LCVP class organised a Valentine’s Day Disco for the first and second year students. It was held in the afternoon and run and supervised by the senior students with help from their teachers. The event was a great success and the junior students had a ball! It was also nice for them to chat with and get to know the Leaving Cert students. A small entrance fee was charged and the money was to go to the North West Hospice. Just before Easter, one of the Leaving Cert students, Scarlett Moore, presented the cheque on behalf of her class. The donation was in memory of Scarlett’s late beloved mother, Jo, who was very well cared for at the Hospice.
TY Fundraising 2019
On Friday 23rd May the TYs of 2018/19 came together with friends and family to celebrate the achievements of the year. Fundraising was a big part of the year and cheques were presented to a variety of local charities. The TY students of the year were announced, Emma Gallagher and Mark Mulhern. Well done to all TY students and enjoy the summer. The hard work starts in September!
Whole-School and Alumni Fundraiser
On 23rd March, Sligo Grammar School hosted a Gala Concert in the Knocknarea Arena, Sligo IT. The concert was in aid of two charities, SHOUT and the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dun Laoghaire. The Gala Concert was a great success, showcasing the talent in SGS. The choirs, present and past – with some teachers thrown in for good measure, were joined by friends and guests to provide an evening of entertainment. In all over €6,500 was raised for the charities. This week the charities were presented with their cheques. Daphne Higgins received the cheque on behalf of her son, Jonathan, past pupil and it will go to the National Rehabilitation Centre in recognition of the care Jonathan received after a serious accident. The second cheque was accepted by Marie Casey on behalf of SHOUT, the Sligo Hospital Oncology Unit Trust. A special thanks to the organisers, Jonathan Carter, Alison Irwin, Lloyd Sweetnam and the SGS Alumni.
