IT TRALEE PRESIDENT’S CIVIC SPIRIT AWARD

The President’s Civic Spirit Award has been established to recognise and acknowledge the significant contribution of IT Tralee’s student volunteers to the Institute and the wider community. Engaging with one’s community as a volunteer brings a benefit to both student and community, this award seeks to encourage student community engagement, active citizenship and build on the established work that is being carried out by students.

In order to be eligible for this award, you need to demonstrate commitment to a voluntary organisation/project. This may be on campus, within local community or in your home town. All students who submit their hours and meet the minimum criteria for their chosen category will be awarded an IT Tralee President’s Civic Spirit Bronze, Silver or Gold Certificate. A Gold, Silver and Bronze Award will be bestowed on three candidates displaying outstanding volunteering experience and impact, as adjudged by the award selection panel. If you are interested in applying for the President's Civic Spirit Award you can log your hours here on studentvolunteer.ie

CATEGORY CRITERIA FOR PRESIDENT'S CIVIC SPIRIT AWARD

Bronze - Minimum 20 hrs

Silver -  Minimum 40 hrs

Gold -  Minimum 60 hrs

APPLYING FOR THE PRESIDENT'S CIVIC SPIRIT AWARD

Step 1: Sign up to your volunteering opportunity. You can find opportunities on StudentVolunteer.ie or volunteer with an organisation of your choice including IT Tralee Clubs, Societies or Students' Union Departments. Make sure you log your hours through StudentVolunteer.ie! 

Step 2: Complete your volunteering and log your hours on StudentVolunteer.ie Once you have reached the minimum hours you will be prompted to apply for the PCSA.

Step 3: Complete the reflective questions section on StudentVolunteer.ie This form is designed to help you reflect on the impact and benefits that both you and the community organisation gained from your volunteering role (the reflective portfolio will be very useful when you are updating your C.V. and in job interviews). Submit your application by the closing date.

Step 4: All completed forms will be reviewed by the President's Civic Spirit Award Selection Committee.

Step 5: The President's Civic Spirit Award Ceremony takes place in late April in IT Tralee. Family and friends of students are welcome to attend the awards.

For more information please contact:

Rosalynd Hayes,
Student Engagement & Retention Officer,
Email:studentengagement@ittralee.ie

Or check out https://www.studentvolunteer.ie/tralee/about/presidents-civic-spirit-award/

STUDENT VOLUNTEER CASE STUDY: CONOR O’BRIEN, IT TRALEE PRESIDENT’S CIVIC SPIRIT GOLD AWARD WINNER 2019

How or where did you start volunteering?

I started volunteering in my secondary school in the Student Council and have been interested ever since. I started my volunteering in IT Tralee within the Events Society as its secretary.

How has your volunteering experience changed in the last year?

In the last year, I founded, led and developed the first mental health awareness society in the college's history, Spark Society. The difference with running this society compared to other work I've done was the team I was working with. My society was so genuinely committed to the topic that it was absolutely fantastic running events with such great people who I knew I could rely on.

What skills or knowledge have you developed through volunteering?

Through my college volunteering, I've definitely seen an increase in my natural confidence. I've been more confident at taking on new challenges where I might not have known where to start. For example, we ran an amateur charity boxing event with IT Tralee students which was so fun to run due to the sheer number of people at hand to help out.

What aspect of volunteering keeps you coming back for more?

I genuinely enjoy developing the society’s community to grow and develop into something more than it is. Giving the people within the societies the freedom to run events for other students allows for truly wonderful events to take place.

What advice would you give to somebody interested in volunteering?

For a personal individual project of volunteering I would say perseverance and consistency are key. Seeing your goal through to the end no matter the hiccup or fault is so important. For an individual operating in a team like myself, I would say spending time with your team outside of volunteering is so important. You need to get to know and build a social working structure for the team and also make sure that gets to have their voice heard.

PRESIDENT’S CIVIC SPIRIT AWARD PREVIOUS WINNERS

IT Tralee President's Civic Spirit Award Previous Winners by Rosalynd Hayes