Projects launched for Laois youth
Outgoing chairperson Ger Quinn with Lysagh Redmond chairperson
TWO projects aimed at Laois teenagers were launched at this year’s Comhairle na nÓg AGM, both of which were generated and produced by Comhairle members, for young people.
As well as discussing problems to tackle for the coming year, the AGM had an air of celebration as many months of hard work paid off for the groups involved. The first of these projects was a booklet designed for teenagers about to leave the nest, entitled ‘Skills for Leaving Home’. The idea came about after last year’s AGM. The booklet features handy tips and skills and will be distributed to over 800 Laois Leaving Cert students next year. Joy Turley from Scoil Chriost Ri told the 100 strong audience about the guide for youth who are in transition from school to college or work, or just leaving home for the first time. “The guide features cooking, cleaning and first aid. A tremendous amount of work has gone into it”, she said. Laois Comhairle na nÓg will also be working with Youth Work Ireland Laois to ensure that the booklet will be updated and distributed to students over the coming years.
The second project entitled ‘Be The True You’, will see participating teenagers go without make up or hair products for 30 days. This was devised to help combat the pressure that teens today feel about their body image, and being expected to look a certain way. Georgina Ireland from Laois County Council told the Leinster Express that the issue was one of the most prevelant to emerge from last year’s AGM. “It encourages young people to see that they don’t have to live up to what they see in the media and on billboards”, she said.
The project will see lots of Laois teens face the challenge of going without their trusted products, something that many adults may not be too eager about doing. The project is being facilitated by the Block Project and will be run countywide raising funds for projects to be run from the new Youth Cafe in Portlaoise.
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Friday 24 May 2013
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