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Grace Kirby, Anna Draghici, Laura Dennehy, Caoimhe Cotter and Orlaith McKenna of the ‘Bandage Your Language’ project with customers Grace Reidy and Gráinne O’Dwyer at Mercy Mounthawk on Thursday. Photo by Dermot Crean
THE students of Mercy Mounthawk Transition Year are showing their inventive side for this year’s Young Social Innovators (YSI) Programme.
The YSI is a Social Innovation Education Programme encourages students to use their talents, insights, passion and creativity to take action and come up with innovative solutions to social challenges and issues that exist in society today.
This year, three groups of Transition Year students in the school are taking part in the competition working on projects that aim to explore, educate and raise awareness around the social issues of body image and body positivity, sustainable style instead of fast fashion and tackling the existence and use of harmful language.
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The project called ‘Bandage Your Language’ is dedicating the year to raising awareness about “the power of language”; highlighting the impact and effects that harmful words and language can have when used in a hurtful and negative manner – in person and online.
The goal of this project is to educate and encourage their fellow students to take ownership of the words they speak and language they use in their everyday lives, taking a conscious stand against harmful and hurtful language.
Students seek to create a “no tolerance and acceptance attitude” to any harmful language used or heard within the school community and beyond.
Since the beginning of the school year, the group have been busy exploring, educating and raising awareness around this social issue through a variety of actions and events.
Most recently, the group held a fundraising event during their lunchtime on “World Random Act of Kindness Day” last Thursday in aid of Jigsaw Kerry Youth Mental Health Services.
They spread some ‘Valen-kindness’ and sold some sweet kebabs with little messages of positivity, highlighting the importance of using kind words and positive language, making over €200 euro for Jigsaw Kerry.
They are currently working hard on developing a “Bandage Your Language” podcast opening conversation and discussion around this social issue and will include some interesting segments! Follow their project journey on their social media page: Instagram @bandage_your_language
The TY “This is Me” YSI class have also been busy working on their project this term. Their goal this school year is to encourage their fellow students to embrace their bodies and instil confidence in any student that may be experiencing negative thoughts regarding how they look and in particular their body shape.
This project is something that these TY students are particularly passionate about as they feel that young people’s excessive use of social media as well as numerous lockdowns have severely impacted the younger generation’s self-image.
Since September, this YSI class has completed two actions for their project. Their first action was to design motivational posters to place on the mirrors in all year group’s bathrooms and around the school building.
The idea behind this was to uplift anyone who may be struggling with their self-image in general or even someone who may just be having a bad mental health day.
The students were incredibly proud of this idea and worked very hard on their designs.
Their second action was a sweet sale. The students packaged over 150 sweet bags, they also added their logo (the Chinese symbol for confidence) and a different positive message tag to each bag. They managed to raise over €350 for the Bodywhys Charity Organisation via this action.
The project called ‘I am what I am’ is taking an environmental angle and also intend to enter the Young Environmentalist Awards with their project.
They are encouraging people to embrace who they are and to challenge the pressure to look a certain way in terms of how our bodies look and what we wear.
The group held a fundraiser before Christmas by selling homemade cookies to send the message that “it’s ok to eat the cookie”.
They also organised a Centenary Session where all songs performed were about being kinder to ourselves and embracing our individuality. Songs included: ‘Thursday’, ‘Little Things’ and ‘See Beneath Your Beautiful’.
Most recently, they set up a TY Swap Shop to facilitate “sustainable style” instead of ‘Fast Fashion’. Students who donated clothes were invited to attend the shop which proved to be a great success.
The YSI Teams are being invited to “speak out” on the issues that they are tackling this year in March during the national YSI Speak Out Virtual Tour.
