Minister engages with Engage on visit to Limerick charity
Patrick O'Donovan, TD recently visited Engage in Education along with Cllr Sarah Kiely
ENGAGE in Education, a Limerick-based charity which supports students living in socially disadvantaged areas, showcased the work they do to Minister Patrick O'Donovan and Cllr Sarah Kiely.
The charity supports underrepresented students to help them on the journey to university. The Department of Higher Education support six initiatives around the country to aid disadvantaged students under the Special Disadvantaged Initiatives Fund.
Students and parents were present on the day at Limerick Enterprise Development Partnership (LEDP) in Roxboro. Project director of Engage, John Roche said they discussed the impact of their work and their need for more financial support.
The department is endeavouring to give more students from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to go to college. Despite, this, Mr Roche said the issue for Engage is that they have to fund all their supports. “We get money from the department, but it's not enough to fund what we're doing.” He added that they have to source funding through various foundations and trusts.
Mr Roche said there are a lot of companies around Limerick and that they would love to collaborate with some to help support these students. They want to grow their presence in corporates by collaborating on student placements. “Increased financial support will allow us to have a greater social impact with disadvantaged students and families.”
They're hoping to organise a coffee morning for companies to see the work they do. Engage support over 300 students across the city and operate in 23 schools there.
Last year, the charity helped 44 out of 46 Leaving Cert students to enter further and higher education courses. “That's a 95% progression rate, so all those kind of supports, like extra tuition, that we're providing them is supporting them to progress up into higher education.”
Engage also have a laptop scheme, provide student grants and host various workshops on mental wellbeing and provide parent support.