by Bernie English [email protected]
A RADICAL new scheme to allow youngsters as young as ten experience a third level environment has been given €4 million in funding, courtesy of philanthropist JP McManus.
The €4 million donation by the JP McManus Benevolent Fund is set to boost plans by Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) to develop a community engagement facility on campus that will benefit communities on the city’s north-side.
An indoor astro-turf facility is among the developments included in the scheme that will bring youngsters into the third-level environment and debunk assumptions that third level education is only for the elite.
According to a spokesperson for the Limerick Institute of Technology, (LIT) the ‘Community Engagement Gateway’ is a flagship project of the Campus 2030 Master-plan and will deliver a range of “social transformation benefits for the wider community on the Northside of the city and beyond”.
The development, which will cost a total of €18 million, will deliver a 6,675 square meters facility “that will use sport as a vehicle for community engagement activities, with its core focus on making educational opportunities open to all”.
There have been local objections to an application for funding from the Regeneration Fund for the project.
Tom Daly, chairperson of the Moyross Residents Alliance, says that while the community would welcome the innovation it’s “putting the cart before the horse”.
“We have no issue with LIT but the community here wants to see more essential projects developed to benefit everyone,” he told the Limerick Post.
But the LIT spokesman said that any money sought from central government, which includes regeneration funding, is in addition to any allocation already promised for community regeneration.
“LIT is actively working with a range of other funding sources to finalise the delivery of the project and is confident that the ambitious project will achieve the planned timelines. Planning for the overall project is expected to be lodged in January of next year, with construction to commence in October 2016 and the facility to be in operation by 2018.
LIT President Dr. Maria Hinfelaar said the McManus donation would kick-start a project that would be a game-changer for the wider community.
“We are deeply grateful and really energised by this award that will make such a difference and help us raise the rest of the funds so the project can be completed by 2018. It will transform the area and the lives of people living there.
“The project builds on work we have been doing for years in engaging with the community and supporting initiatives that raise aspirations among young people to believe in themselves and stay in education. But all these initiatives lacked a dedicated home and now we are finally going to have this.”
JP McManus Benevolent Fund Chairperson Sue Ann Foley said that a fundamental purpose of the fund was to identify opportunities to support community based and not-for-profit initiatives, particularly in the area of education, healthcare and local infrastructure.
“The Gateway project which will ultimately position LIT as a link between the Moyross area, Thomond Park and the city centre, will provide access to important community facilities and education allowing the north side of the city to integrate as a complete and connected unit. We are delighted to be able to contribute to such a life-changing and extraordinary scheme by LIT which will create such a positive legacy for future generations”, she said.
Another key aspect of the Gateway project will be a new public plaza between LIT and the adjacent St. Nessan’s Community College – soon to be merged with the Salesians Secondary College to become Thomond Community College – that will be used as an educational corridor, and a resource for public/community outdoor events.
A range of existing activities will now be headquartered in the Gateway. These will include the LIT GIVE project, which encourages students to engage in voluntary activities; the Go4IT Programme, which supports young people from Limerick’s Northside who have academic potential but are from backgrounds with low progression rates to third-level education; and the Business in Community project, an education inclusion programme that partners schools with business.
Also included will be the very successful ‘Reclaim Limerick’ Double Club and Gap programmes, which are run in conjunction with Limerick FC and Limerick City and County Council. The Double Club programme is targeted at primary and secondary level students to enhance literacy and numeracy skills and provides a renewed focus on learning.
The Community Engagement Gateway will allow all these initiatives to scale up significantly in addition to incorporating a range of additional community based programmes.
