17.11.2014
St Ann’s Cross Symbolises Hope and Victory for Solas Project Kids
A carved wooden Church of Ireland cross made by young people working in The Yard, a programme run by Solas Project, was dedicated in St Ann’s Church, Dawson Street, yesterday (Sunday November 16). The cross will serve to remind parishioners in St Ann’s of the links between their church and the Solas project which have been going from strength to strength. It now hangs in their parish hall.
Solas Project is one of the beneficiaries of the annual Black Santa Sit Out which takes place outside St Ann’s in the run up to Christmas. Parishioners also volunteer with the project, which is a non profit organisation based in South Inner City Dublin.
Solas Finance and Operations Manager, Clodagh O’Reilly, addressed the congregation on Sunday and spoke to them about the project. “Our vision is an Ireland where all children and young people truly know their self–worth and can take full advantage of their potential. Solas Project exists because of a fundamental belief that all people are created in the image of God. This leads us to treat every person with compassion, dignity and respect, to seek out the goodness in them and through that empower them to discover their own abilities and self worth. We hold ourselves accountable to four key values: Love, Justice, Hope and Joy,” she said.
She outlined the seven projects run for young people in Solas Project, among them the social enterprise, The Yard. There, young people come to learn valuable skills such as woodwork, bicycle maintenance and bicycle building. They also learn life skills and through one to one mentoring they learn to work as part of a team and what working in a business will be like. Clodagh stressed the importance of instilling career aspirations to combat latent apathy and instill hope for the future in an area where there is 80 percent unemployment.
The cross was made by the young people under the guidance of Youth Cultivator Andrew Doyle along with Kristin Limmer and Adrian Finlay. “This cross was a challenge for the group to make and I’m sure you’ll see a lot of hard work went into it,” Clodagh said. “To have had our young people working on carving out a cross in the heart of Dublin, means a great deal. The cross symbolises hope and victory and it is my firm belief that with your support Solas Project will succeed in creating a better future for many many young people. I think it makes a beautiful addition to St Ann’s.”
Clodagh paid tribute to St Ann’s parishioners who volunteer with Solas including Lucy Jones, Arthur Vincent and, in particular, Joan Wadsworth, who has been shortlisted in the Volunteer of the Year awards run by Volunteer Ireland.
St Ann’s donated €2,000 to Solas Project this year. The funding enabled them to expand their Step Up programme which provides one to one mentoring to second level students.
Photo captions:
Top – Clodagh O’Reilly and Kirstin Limmer of Solas Project with St Ann’s Vicar, Canon David Gillespie and parishioner, Joan Wadsworth with the cross carved by young people who attend The Yard social enterprise.
Bottom – Fred Deane and Jim Kieran putting the cross carved by young people involved with Solas Project up in St Ann’s parish hall.