Mayo youth project group finalists in National Lottery Good Causes Awards

FORÓIGE Connect is among the 35 community groups, sports clubs and organisations from all over Ireland who have been announced as national finalists in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards.

The Mayo-based youth project will contest in the youth category of this year’s awards.

The awards honour the inspiring work and achievements of thousands of projects, clubs and individuals from all over Ireland who, with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding, have had an extraordinary impact on their local communities. Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to good causes all over the country.

Foróige Connect is a Mayo-based project made up of five youth workers who work with young people who are at risk of going into foster care or who are in foster care and are at risk of going into residential care.

Funding through the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth allowed them to provide a holistic six-day programme to meet the needs of a specific group of young people who presented with extremely challenging behaviour and were resistant to many supports being offered to them.  At the end of the programme, the young people developed their ability to understand, communicate and regulate their emotions and feelings.

Each of the 35 finalists will now receive €1,000 and a hand-crafted trophy and proceed to the grand final in which there are seven categories: Arts & Culture, Community, Health & Wellbeing, Heritage, Irish language, Sport and Youth.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony which takes place on October 1 in the Kilashee House Hotel, Co. Kildare, where each of the seven category winners will receive €10,000 and the overall Good Cause of the Year will take home an additional €25,000.