TV presenter walks the talk for Foróige
By William O'Connor
Operation Transformation TV presenter Kathryn Thomas was in Tallaght on Thursday evening to participate in the first-ever OT Foróige ‘Walk n Talk’.
Foróige Dublin South has formed a partnership with Operation Transformation for a major campaign – The Operation Transformation Foróige ‘Walk n Talk’ campaign.
Kathryn Thomas helps launch the 'Walk the Talk' with Foróige members
This is the first time Foróige has partnered with Operation Transformation and is delighted to be part of this positive campaign which, not only focuses on getting young people active but also links the benefits of physical activity with positive mental health and well-being.
The campaign encourages young people and Foróige volunteers to ‘Walk n Talk’ and to use the time to chat and check in with each other to discuss issues and topics which they feel are important to them.
The campaign will run for the duration of this year’s Operation Transformation season and was launched on Thursday.
Andy Leeson, Area Manager, Foróige Dublin South said, “We are delighted to be involved in the ‘Walk n Talk’ initiative as part of Operation Transformation.
“In our youth work we practice a hands-on approach in assisting the positive and healthy development of young people and this initiative is a great platform to highlight the link between physical activity and positive mental health and build on the momentum of our work in this area.”
Valerie Scully, Senior Youth Officer based at The Big Picture who lead out the walk on the night, said, “The walk was a great success with a huge turnout of young people, volunteers and staff from right across our services.
“The local Gardai gave us their full support in keeping us all safe and allowing the walk to run smoothly. We all had great fun and the ‘Walk n Talk’ generated a great buzz in the village – all in all it was very positive for the area.”
The launch was filmed for inclusion as part of the Operation Transformation TV Show for broadcast on Wednesday, January 23 and The Echo was also present to do a social media video on Echo.ie with Kathryn Thomas and Foróige members.
Over 70 young people, volunteers and staff from Foróige Tallaght/Dublin South took to the streets of Tallaght for an inaugural ‘Walk n Talk’.
Presenter Kathryn Thomas also took part and used the time to walk and chat with some of the young people involved. People walked from Foróige offices over to IT Tallaght and back again to record a video for RTE.
Kathryn Thomas told The Echo: “We took part in the first ever OT Foróige ‘Walk n Talk’ all around Tallaght. We finished up at Foróige youth centre. We had a great time.
“It’s a brilliant concept, it’s about getting young people out there getting talking, getting active, finding a safe space for them. There are lots of different walks in your local area so get involved.”
Foróige is Ireland’s leading youth organisation which works with over 50,000 young people aged between 10 and 18 across the country to enable them to involve themselves consciously and actively in their own development and in the development of society.
