Mercy Mounthawk has been to the fore nationally in the Young Social Innovators movement and has been highly recognised at the national awards:
Ms Veronica Hunt receives a special award from Sr. Stanislaus and John Buttimer, Mayor of Cork, March 2013
- 2013 Winner Best Step-Up Project (Little Miss Fluoride Fighters Campaign)
- 2012 Overall 2nd place (Anti-Fluoride Campaign)
- Teacher Ms Veronica Hunt has also been recognised for her personal contribution to YSI over many years.
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So, ….. What is YSI?
YSI-Young Social Innovators is Ireland’s largest social awareness and active citizenship and education programme for (15-18 yrs teens). Its main goal is to get young people (15-18yrs) involved in action which helps improve the lives of others in their community.
YSI involves thousands of young people in Ireland each year in hundreds of projects and social enterprises which are youth-led, team-based and action-focused.
Each year, each group can enter into a speak-out competition.
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How does YSI work?
Young people come up with and develop ideas to change the world for good. They work in a team, decide what they want to do and how they can respond in new ways to problems of importance to them. -
Main Initiatives
The main initiatives and aims of YSI groups are:
- Public Health
- Personal well-being (Bullying, Mental Health etc.)
- Road safety
- Anti-social Behaviour
- Suicide prevention
- Animal Cruelty (eg. Fur Farming)
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Young Social Innovators Projects
Past projects taken on by the YSI groups in Mounthawk have included:
- Dealing with safety of the elderly and their inclusion in society.
- Focusing on global deforestation and the effects this has on all of us.
- Promoting motorbike and car safety.
- Highlighting the importance of expressing your emotions in positive ways, especially by teenagers.
- Studying the negative effects of Flouride in our water supply and launching a nationally recognised campaign to have it removed.
- Trying to raise awareness and treatment of ovarian cancer.
