We would like to extend our congratulations to Danielle Hogan on winning in the recent Garda Youth Awards. Danielle is 17 years old and attends Thomond Community College where she is in 6th year. Danielle is completing the Leaving Certificate Applied programme and is due to graduate in 2020.
Danielle has been a volunteer in her local community for many years. In August 2007, the Franciscan Friars known as the ‘Monks of Moyross’ came as part of a mission to get children and young adults off the streets and out of trouble. They started a club in 2009 called the St John Paul II Youth Club, which Danielle joined at 7 years old. Over the years, the group learned about different people who volunteer to help make a change in other peoples’ lives.
When Danielle was 12 years old, she started volunteering with the monks, travelling to lots of different communities and churches to give a helping hand. Danielle worked with the monks in Dublin at the Mother Theresa Sisters Soup Kitchen where she helped make dinners and serve them to the homeless. Danielle volunteered with the St John Paul II summer camps from 2015 to 2019. She worked with young children, making sure kids were on the right buses, making sure they had lunch and the right equipment for trips. She also volunteers with after-school clubs and Christmas parties.
Danielle recently helped in St John Paul’s nursing home. She chatted to patients, sang songs and taught them actions to lyrics of songs.
In school, Danielle has volunteered to help with the annual school open night for the last 4 years. She stayed back after school to help prepare rooms, clean up and assist with tour groups. Danielle is a member of the school’s Anti-Bullying Committee, working to promote a culture of respect and tolerance among students. She is also a volunteer on the annual Multicultural day for the last three years.
Danielle gives of her time freely and with great enthusiasm. She always has a smile on her face. She has received numerous merit certificates in school for excellent behaviour and co-operation.
In her own words, “my life as a teen volunteer has been the best years of my life.”
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