A youth group in West Belfast raised funds to help their local community with the rising cost of living.
Glór Na Móna is an Irish language community and youth organisation based in the Whiterock area. On Friday, August 19, their youth group took part in a 12 hour 'stay awake' fundraiser for the Whiterock Children's Centre.
The 35 youngsters raised over £500 for the family support centre, which will be used to buy much-needed items to help people in the area through the cost of living crisis including nappies and baby food.
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Youth worker Caoimhe Nic Cú Uladh said kids at the youth group are always looking out for ways to help their community.
"A lot of the stuff we've done in the past, our community would always be a big part of our hearts. They've supported us whenever we need it, so the young people are always trying to come up with ways we can give back," she told Belfast Live.
"They said about doing a stay awake in the youth club. They came up with the idea themselves to raise some money.
"Myself and the young people started doing a bit of research. They were researching our area and finding out what we could do to support people.
"They decided the Whiterock Children's Centre was where they wanted to donate to. It's an organisation that's an amazing asset in our community, they do appeals around Christmas and are continuously supporting families and people in need in the area. The young people wanted to do something to give back in the small way we can."
The youth group made sponsorship forms for the young people, who went and collected sponsorships from friends and family. After tallying up the funds raised, they asked those at the children's centre what items they needed most.
Caoimhe said: "They raised just over £500 which I thought was amazing. From speaking to the girls in the children's centre, we asked what the main things they need are and a lot of them came back saying nappies, baby food and cleaning products.
"It's things every family needs, that they may be struggling to get at the minute due to the cost of living crisis. With people struggling financially, we wanted to do something to help relieve that pressure a wee bit."
During their fundraiser on Friday night, the youngsters spent 12 hours in their youth club, playing games such as chaseys and hide and seek, watching movies, and enjoying each others company.
"We played games through the night then watched a wee film. I found it was a great way for us to build better relationships with eachother.
"You're sitting at 4am getting into a conversation with a young person you're maybe not really getting into when you're only seeing them for two or three hours a night. It gave us an opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level too," she added.
Caoimhe said it's refreshing to see young people who are so committed to helping those in their local area.
"The kids in Glór Na Móna always have that community spirit. Whether it be from feeling the need to clean the local parks, or support where they can, they always have that drive to help out - it's instilled in them," she added.
"It's really heartwarming to see young people who are wanting to do positive things. It's amazing. For me as a youth worker, it's so great to see they're looking at wanting to help others instead of wanting to do something for themselves."
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