Aidlink Article

“Where are the address labels? In fact, where are the addresses?” These and lots of other frantic questions have been regularly posed in one small area of Blackrock College recently. For you see, a group of bright-eyed, eager Transition Year students are taking their first tentative steps into the world of charity fund-raising, in the GOAL/Aidlink St. Patrick’s Day badge campaign. Last year, €140,000 was raised for the two charities, making it a very significant campaign for both of them.

The basic premise of the project is to sell as many of those little incredibly adhesive shamrock badges as possible in the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day. The money raised from the sale of each €2 badge goes towards two charities: Aidlink, a small organisation which helps with long-term development in African countries and GOAL, a more high-profile agency that deals with ‘alleviating the suffering of the poorest of the poor’ in Third World countries. GOAL was most recently in the news due to their valuable work in earthquake-devastated Haiti. 

The Blackrock College Transition Years have been running the badge campaign since 1989, with the amount raised increasing year on year. In 2009, the current Fifth Years raised €140,000 in total, so we have a lot to live up to this year! Nearly the whole year of 200 boys is split into teams. Some liaise with local businesses, others encourage primary and secondary schools to sell and buy the badges, while others send away badges to countries as far away as South Africa and Canada. The Admin team (of which I am a proud member) has the daunting task of overseeing the whole operation.

It might seem hard to believe but the money raised from the sale of just one €2 badge can purify enough water for 100 people to drink! While €10 (five badges) can rescue a child living on the streets in Calcutta and provide him/her with food, housing and education for a month! When it comes to Third World countries, a little really does go a long, long way!
So, over the next few weeks, why don’t you break out in a burst of patriotism, look out for a badge in shops, schools, businesses, or buy one from our street collectors. Wear a GOAL shamrock, and know you are making a difference! It only costs two euro!

By Edward Kevin

This article was adapted and appeared in the Evening Herald.