Irish Guide Dog Day

Term 3:

During lockdown, I took part in the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind (IGDB) TY Programme, along with Keelin O Brien and Ciara Ahern.

We learned about the

Process that the puppies go through
Client experiences
Puppy training
How they fundraise money
Lots more!

I found this course very interesting and it made me realise just how much of a difference this organisation makes to the lives of people and children all over Ireland.

So when we came back to school we decided to run a fundraiser to raise money for IGDB. Our aim was to fundraise money while raising as much awareness as possible to support the organisation, who provide guide dogs for visually impaired people & assistant dogs for children with autism.

For Who? 1st year - Transition year

Where? School gym/astro turf

When? Thursday 6th May 2021

What? "Goalball" - a game involving being blindfolded

How? We recruited TYs to help us and had lots of support from teachers including Mr. Murphy and the PE teachers. We were also grateful that the teachers allowed us to take their students out of class for the activity.

So we wanted to run an event where students would get the opportunity to experience the challenges posed to those who are visually impaired, which will hopefully make them realise just how a much of a difference a guide dog can make.

On Thursday 6th May, we took out two classes per 40 minute class period (one group in gym & astro turf)

For the "goalball" activity, the students went in pairs (one person blindfolded, the other guiding them). There were 2 pairs on each pitch (each standing in their goal). The aim of the game was to score in the opposition's goals and stop the ball going into your own goals. However, only the blindfolded person was allowed to throw and stop the ball. The other person in the pair had to guide them and tell them were the ball was.

We rotated the students every few minutes so they could play against a different pair. They took turns being blindfolded.

Overall, the day went really well. We raised over €620 for IGDB and we also created awareness which we were delighted with!