‘Now more than ever there is a need to focus on young people’

‘Now more than ever there is a need to focus on young people’

By Mary Dennehy

AMY Keatinge has from a young age recognised the importance of community, and the need to support and recognise those volunteering at grassroots level.

Living in Jobstown, Amy (24) is this week encouraging people to continue this show of appreciation and thanks through a new Tallaght Community Council (TCC) initiative called OurHeroesYourChoice.

Amy Keating 05 1

Amy Keatinge showing this year’s certificate which is available for download at http://echo.ie/CertificateOfAppreciation.pdf

Tallaght Person of the Year may be cancelled for 2020 but members of the community can still recognise their unsung hero by virtually presenting them with a Certificate of Appreciation.

TCC has created and made available a Certificate of Appreciation, which members of the community can virtually present to a local hero or group – anyone they believe deserves a ‘thank you’.

Current Tallaght Person of the Year Lee Moroney is staying on for a second term, with each of the category winners from 2019 also holding onto their title and trophy for a historic two year stint.

This includes Amy who picked up the Youth Award at Tallaght Person of the Year 2019 for her work with and representation of young people as the Deputy Student Union President of TU Dublin – Tallaght Campus.

Amy, who started a new job with Foroige after finishing up as Deputy Student Union President of TU Dublin – Tallaght Campus in June, has continued her focus on young people over recent months.

In light of the new Level 5 restrictions, Amy believes that young people need to be kept “at the forefront” of the Government’s mind.

“Now more than ever there is a need to focus on young people”, Amy said.

“They are this country’s next generation and we need them to feel that they were supported through Covid when growing up.

“I really hope young people get the support that they deserve.

“Young people in this area are fantastic, and we’ve seen through Covid that they have great ideas and grá for their community.”

When asked who she would present her Certificate of Appreciation to, Amy put forward Daire Hennessey, the Chairman of the Citywise Youth Steering Committee.

Citywise is a youth education and leadership project in Jobstown.

“Daire Hennessey is the first person who came to my mind… he’s a great role model to young people”, Amy said.

“I’ve only met Daire a couple of times but he embodies what it means to be a youth leader and inspires a lot of young people to better themselves.

“For a young person, he’s done a lot of good work in his community and continues to do so.

“From speaking with him on two occassions, it was clear that he is constantly looking at new ways of helping young people in the area.

“I’ve also heard from other young people in the area about his great support.”

TCC has encouraged members of the community to virtually present their Certificate of Appreciation by email or by tagging their unsung hero or group on social media using the hastag #OurHeroesYourChoice.

The certificate is available to download from The Echo website here; http://echo.ie/CertificateOfAppreciation.pdf and you can email it to your chosen hero.

Alternatively, you can use the certificate printed on this page, or it can be printed off from The Echo website for those who would like to post their Certificate of Appreciation.

Visit the Tallaght Community Council Facebook page or Twitter account for further details on its #OurHeroesYourChoice initiaitve.

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