Mayo students take on No Phone Survival Challenge

STUDENTS at Sancta Maria College in Louisburgh have signed up for Enable Ireland’s No Phone Survival Challenge to support children and adults with disabilities in their community.

Next Tuesday (October 23), students from 103 schools all over the country will be taking part in the fundraising campaign which sees students pledge to spend 24 hours without their phones.

This year, as part of the No Phone Survival Challenge, Enable Ireland are also offering schools the opportunity to earn an Enable Ireland Disability Awareness Shield with a four module lesson plan on disability awareness.

The lesson plans are tailor made for teachers and provide a four-part educational module which will give students a full and interactive introduction to the reality of life with a disability.

The plans are perfect for classes of any age, but especially useful for transition year students and CSPE curriculums. Most importantly, every school that completes the Disability Awareness Lesson Plan will qualify for a unique Enable Ireland Disability Awareness Shield.

Grace Hynes from Sancta Maria College said: “We are delighted to be taking part in the No Phone Survival Challenge, and that our students are embracing the challenge with such enthusiasm!

“The disability awareness lesson plans are a very valuable resource for us. Disability awareness and inclusion is hugely important to our school, and we will be very proud to be awarded the Disability Awareness Shield which we will display with pride.”

Joanne O’Hagan, head of fundraising at Enable Ireland, said: “We are delighted that students at Sancta Maria College are taking on the challenge, along with over a hundred schools all over Ireland. The funds raised are vital - every year we need over €2 million in additional funding to meet the costs of delivering our services. As well as raising vital funds, it’s a great opportunity to promote disability awareness and inclusion, and teachers and students alike have welcomed the opportunity to earn a Disability Awareness Shield for their school.”

Money raised locally from the No Phone Survival Challenge will be used to support services to children and adults with disabilities. In Mayo, Enable Ireland has been providing community based services to children and adults with physical disabilities and their families since 1992.

Schools who wish to register for the No Phones Survival Challenge, or would like more information on the Disability Awareness Shield, should email nophone@enableireland.ie or call (01) 8857152 for details.