The Soar Story - Chapter 2 by The Soar Foundation

THE SOAR STORY CHAPTER 2 Soar is Celebrating Greatness in Young People all across Ireland

I HAD ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had no idea of the true nature and beauty of the work done by Soar and hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a clue what to expect. If I had any expectations they would have been obliterated due to the impact Soar had on me that day. I had one of the most incredible, profound experiences of my life. To have a space that is truly safe, in which people feel comfortable speaking about anything is rare in life, let alone in a school setting. This power that Soar gives to young iii

PROFOUND EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE.

people (or the power Soar reminds us is within ourselves!) is the reason it is so unique. It empowers young people like me, and this is why I am passionate about the work they do and why I feel it is so important that as many people as possible get to experience what I did. The feeling I got from sitting in that room is one I still feel today and one I will remember for the rest of my life.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Alex Connolly 1

SoaR IS empoWeRIng young people To See and HonouR THe InCRedIble value and poTenTIal THey Hold WITHIn THemSelveS. We belIeve THeRe IS no gReaTeR gIFT. We aRe CommITTed To HelpIng THem unleaSH THIS poTenTIal, WITH THe SuppoRT oF THe magnIFICenT movemenT oF people THaT maKe up ouR TRIbe. Soar creates and delivers early intervention, preventative wellness workshops for young people between the ages of 12 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 18, from all backgrounds throughout the land. our workshops empower young people to thrive, believe in themselves and fulfil their true potential. We create a safe space where young people are comfortable to be themselves, explore their dreams and some of the things that might be holding them back. the feedback we receive daily from young people, parents and teachers shows us we are on to something special. Soar is contributing to changing lives, classrooms, families, society and futures in a beautifully healthy way. We are 100% independently funded thanks to the belief of the community of people, companies and organisations that fully get the breadth and depth of our work. We are immensely grateful to the hundreds of people who have helped us, each step of the way. We would not be here without them or without you. Soarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aim is to meaningfully reach as many young people throughout Ireland as possible. by reading our story and perhaps taking an action you are inspired to take, you too can help us contribute towards changing lives.

taBle oF contentS: Foreword from the Co-Founders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 A glimpse of the Soar Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Child Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Our Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Our Facilitators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Introducing the FIT Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 A Few Highlights of the Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Life as a Teenager in Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Letter from Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Soar Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Research and Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Young People are Leading the Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Our Youth Collective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Thank You to The Reach Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 A note from Tom Harkin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 A Few Special Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Looking to the Future: Strategic Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 The Soar Board and a message from our Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Personal letter from a parent to Soar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Financials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Messages to Soar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 On The Move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Thank You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Letter from Tony Garry, Soar Founding Friend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Call to Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

From deep in our collective soul we followed a call that smashed walls and dismantled fear. a defiance emerged. It told us we are what we dream we can be. We were told giving young people their voice was dangerous. it might remind the adults that they had lost their way. We did it anyway. along the way we realised it is our young people that will heal this land. it is our young people that will inspire us. they have so much to teach us, but will we truly listen? Soar has challenged us all. challenged us to step in to the people we were born to be. We have seen doubt, fear and indifference

dwarfed by the roar of awakening in our young people, an awakening to their greatness. this isn’t just young people’s birthright, it’s your birthright. Soar isn’t the answer, just part of the revolution. there is no going back now. don’t be afraid. our ancestors and all those that believed will be with us. now is the time. Tony Griffin, Co-Founder and CEO of Soar

if 2013 WaS a ‘breaKthrouGh Year’, then 2014 WaS an aLL handS on decK, frenetic, LurchinG roLLercoaSter on amphetamineS tYpe of a Year. aS an orGaniSation We had to Learn hoW to Go from craWLinG to fLat out SprintinG, aLL the WhiLe trYinG to maKe Sure no one feLL over-board. it WaS one heLL of a Year.

2014 brings a smile to our faces. at the outset it was a year dedicated to completing a three year cycle of organisational and program development underpinned by sustainable thinking. it was a year when Soar grew in terms of its structures, in how to generate money to drive our programs, the way in which we report to our support base, our method of organisational operation to support the programs, the delivery of our programs, our governance and future planning. all essential. in 2014, we raised €321,641 privately, with no government support. We have always wanted to re-define the charity model. thank you to everyone involved in being a living example of making things happen for young people by supporting us financially. a full financial overview of the year is available on page 36. as an organisation we made great strides from an operational stand-point. mark mcdonnell left a well-paying job in march to come aboard the Soar journey as operations manager. mark stepped up early and grew in to a leadership role quickly. he saved us at least two nervous breakdowns each and seamlessly understood the values Soar was built on at a very deep level and made many of his operational decisions from this place. those of you trying to build organisations know the value of this. 4

in march, we also welcomed Sinéad Shannon as a hybrid office manager, research manager and overseer of our financial tracking. Sometimes we forget that Soar is Sinéad’s first full time job. it baffles us when she is so productive and capable of accessing her cut-through-nature to get a job done. one team change in 2014 was ciara Quinn moving across to oversee how we tell the Soar story. ciara drove our new website forward and with the support of aad design created something we are immensely proud to call Soar’s window to the online world. See www.soar.ie.

deliver Soar programs in schools and in the community. part of this training included a 4 month ‘facilitation masterclass’ over the summer. delivered by tom harkin from melbourne, this was a journey like no other for our crew. personally transformative, expanding and at times emotionally gruelling this process developed a deep bond in the crew. the most difficult thing we had to do this past year was select six of the crew to go to the next stage of becoming a Soar facilitator. You will meet the six Soar facilitators in training (the fit’s) in the pages to come.

our last team member for the foreseeable future will arrive in february 2015, when barbara Leonard and her dog Samson will join us as Soar’s child and team Wellbeing manager (Samson will not fill this role because he finds typing troublesome with his paws but will be our guard dog and spiritual guru when required). babs as she is known to us, will bring years of experience working at the coalface of early intervention and at risk support to Soar. We are wildly excited to welcome her.

Who would have known that something as simple as creating authentic, real, safe spaces would mean so much to young people? Who knew that it was just what they were looking for all along? isn’t it what we are all looking for? experiences to engage our souls where we can practice being ourselves while falling in love with who we are and who we dream of becoming.

2014 was the year our crew of 20 young people aged between 18 and 27 went through the second year of an intense training program to become Soar facilitators. these are the people who

2014, thank you for teaching us that young people have their own answers and have so much to teach us, if only we would listen. We can’t wait to go at 2015 with everything we’ve got. love Tony griffin and Karl Swan, Co-Founders of Soar

Ciara Quinn Communications, Events, Partnerships “i love being part of Soar because, really simply, i’ve seen first-hand the difference in young people when they can recognise their own unique brilliance. Seeing how powerful this can be, i can’t imagine not wanting to be involved!”

Tony griffin Co-Founder, CEO “i co-founded Soar because of Love. i love people and i love potential being fulfilled.”

Karl Swan Co-Founder, Programs

Sinéad Shannon Research, Finance, Logistics

“Giving young people the opportunity to share stories from their own heroic journeys and what they have learned has been and continues to be an incredible experience. i too have learned so much from them. i am so proud of Soar. it is very gratifying to witness its ripple effect and impact. i love it!”

“Soar has taught me the value of living in the moment and being in touch with my heart. as so many say, i wish i had Soar when i was younger, but i am also glad to be of service to Soar now, in reaching ireland’s youth.”

mark mcdonnell Operations, Funding, Finance “We don’t have a magic wand or provide them with ‘answers’. We simply create spaces where young people can be authentic with each other. Young people come alive in these spaces, and seeing their future as their own brings immense satisfaction for me.”

2014 was a significant year with regards to our Youth Welfare and protection Strategy. in September the national Youth council of ireland delivered an incredible training session for all staff, trainee facilitators and crew, who are now certified in child protection training. We had a successful year with the Garda vetting bureau, as all of our staff, facilitators and board are now Garda vetted. our designated Liaison person worked closely with tusla, child and family agency, schools throughout ireland, and parents and various support agencies and organisations ensuring the young people we worked with got the continued support they needed.

The well-being and protection of all young people is Soarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important priority. to maximise the safety and welfare of all children and young people that will take part in Soar programs, it is essential that we implement a Youth Welfare and protection policy that meets all legal criteria. this policy includes procedures such as dealing with a disclosure, reporting suspected or actual child abuse or neglect and detailing the responsibilities of all members of Soar. Soar will continue to implement a Youth protection policy that is communicated to all members, staff, participants, families and carers. this policy will be on constant review by Soarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s designated Liaison person. early intervention is a key factor in promoting wellbeing, particularly if the young person is vulnerable or at risk. the prevention and detection of child abuse or neglect requires a coordinated multidisciplinary approach, effective management, clarity of responsibility and on-going training. the appropriate assessment is crucial in determining the possibility of abuse or negligence. When there are reasonable grounds for believing a child or young person may have been, or is at risk of any form of abuse or negligence, Soar will proceed according to the steps laid out in its Youth Wellbeing and protection policy. in february 2015, Soar will welcome barbara Leonard known to all of us as babs, as child protection and Well-being manager. More details on child safety is available on our website page www.soar.ie/about, where a copy of our Youth Welfare and Protection Policy is available to download.

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our

WorKShopS

What happens in a Program?

people who haven’t attended a Soar workshop often ask what actually happens in the program? it’s hard to answer. how do you describe a feeling? the experience is so, well… experiential, that while it can be quite transformative for an individual or a group it can be a challenge to describe it in words. a special thank you goes out to the reach foundation in australia for their assistance in communicating the essence of the Soar program based on their 21 years’ experience.

From the Top

Soar delivers emotional wellbeing workshops by creating safe and supportive environments for young people to share with each other what their lives are really like. Young people have a lot to say. We listen. in our workshops our facilitators create an opportunity for a safe environment, letting young people say what they want to and in many cases, need to express. there is great skill required in facilitating a Soar workshop. to help create that ‘safe space’, we outline clearly from the beginning that the space is a non-judgemental one. there is no right or wrong. an innate sense of trust and respect gently weaves its way into the classroom with every minute that passes, as the facilitators open up about their life stories and open the space up for young people to share their life experiences. there is validity to whatever a young person brings into the room and we all learn from each other’s stories. as Soar is an early intervention and not a curative program, we work alongside guidance counsellors and at-risk curative agencies to ensure young people that may be struggling, get the support and care they require post program.

Digging deeper

at its very heart, Soar believes that there is ‘greatness’ in all people. this concept of greatness is simply something intangible that already exists within all of us, uniquely different in each of us. it is a potential that can only be realised through authentic self-expression. the Soar

program can be described as transformative personal development while also enhancing group or class dynamic. other ways of describing greatness in this context could be ‘personal truth’, ‘inner-self’, ‘heart’, ‘essence’ or ‘spirit’. We are born with this greatness and we can develop it by overcoming challenging life experiences that exercise our resilience muscle. We don’t always have to develop our greatness through overcoming pain or life challenges. many of us also do it through our love, by being believed in, or just simply being. however, we find so often that this greatness can often be hidden behind beliefs and behaviours that are generated by emotions such as anger, hurt, shame and fear that act as ‘blocks’ inhibiting young people from realising their potential. these emotions usually arise as a reaction to negative, traumatic or tragic experiences that are faced as part of everyday life. these emotions can also arise when our sense of who we are conflicts with the expectations of our families, peers, culture and society. When a young person (or any person) is not aware of their greatness or potential, or feel that their sense of who they want to be is not accepted by those around them, they can experience life feeling unhappy, unfulfilled or dis-empowered. Sometimes consciously, but mostly unconsciously. for many young people this disenchantment with being alive can manifest as destructive activities such as drug and alcohol abuse, bullying, suicide, self-harm, depression, violence and other destructive behaviours aimed at deflecting from the deeper inner pain and apathy. at a Soar workshop, we explore young people’s greatness through a process of facilitation that challenges self-limiting beliefs or ‘blocks’ to their greatness. What is the root of these ‘blocks’? What is the root of the beliefs they hold? are these beliefs really theirs, or someone else’s? our workshops use peer to peer facilitation that aims to identify and re-frame an individual’s limiting beliefs, thus breaking destructive behavioural patterns.

Important to note:

1. Soar never tells young people how they should feel. We never talk in clichés or tell young people that we have the answers – because we don’t. 2. We believe that young people (like all of us) share who they are, when they know they are not being judged, and so we never judge anything they say. 3. We never go beyond creating a safe space where young people can connect and share their life stories, nor do we try to counsel young people. We simply create the space for them to support and help each-other. When it is necessary, we offer follow up from our child well-being support or by connecting young people and their schools with organsiations doing great work at the ‘at risk’ end of the curative spectrum. Soar is an early intervention not a curative model.

From the very first Soar workshop which took place January 2012 up until the first week of February 2015

there are three hallmarKS oF a Soar proGram regardless of the school, group or setting: 1

We create a safe space for young people to connect and share the stories of their lives and what they have learned about life. the consistent theme is that the wisdom gained in these life experiences are full of personal truth for the individual who speaks them. if it is an authentic personal truth, then it will also contain universal principles and if this is so, other young people will hear, feel, connect and learn. in these moments we are able to witness the human condition at its most powerful.

We train young people aged 18-27 to facilitate Soar’s programs so that as close as is possible, it is young people inspiring young people.

in order for young people to build resilience, learn empathy and be empowered, their education must also address their day to day experiences and inner thoughts, fears, aspirations and questions that shape their lives. Soar creates spaces for this alternative ‘life skills’ education with the aim of building emotional well-being and greater self-awareness.

Soar iS a peer to peer modeL. We train YounG peopLe aGed 18-27 to faciLitate and hoLd ‘SpaceS’ for YounG peopLe aGed 12-18. bY ‘Space’ We mean anY Location Where YounG peopLe come toGether to connect, Share their StorieS, their chaLLenGeS and the WiSdom Gained from their JourneYS, aLL With the purpoSe of buiLdinG reSiLience and emotionaL WeLL-beinG for the daYS ahead.

on a drizzly evening in 2012, we held our first ‘call for facilitators’ and were shocked to find a queue outside the door. We quickly realised that the 18 - 27 age group cared about those coming behind them and were willing to take action. from this group 20 ‹crew› emerged. this crew have been on a journey of self-discovery. for some, that meant staying and wanting to become a facilitator, some felt quickly it wasn’t for them and dis-engaged, while others got the personal transformation they required and continued on their own journey. the training was as one of the crew put it “full on” and it needed to be. We were quite aware that the Soar model of young people inspiring young people hadn›t been done before in ireland and that we are pushing boundaries for irish society. in may 2014, tom harkin arrived from australia to bring the training to the next level and to ensure the crew were exposed to his 12 years of learning from his work with reach. What an odyssey awaited us all. Some nights we limped out of the training with more questions than answers. other evenings we bounded out full of a thirst for living authentic, inspired lives. at the end of tom›s three months with Soar we had the almost impossible task of choosing 6 of the crew to go on to the facilitator in training (known as our fit crew) stage. these 6 then began the final stage of their training which involved shadowing Karl and tony in schools over the September to december 2014 schedule, taking on and running more of the program, while also continuing their training out of school in the evenings and the weekends. it hasn’t been an easy road for the first Soar facilitators. they are constantly operating out of their comfort zones and are coming to terms with how challenging holding safe spaces for young people can be when you are facilitating the real lives of young people full of joys, dreams and hurt, all the while encouraging exploration of their highest potential. the next stage of Soar’s model of ‘young people inspiring young people’ is to begin recruitment of future facilitators from those that have experienced the Soar program in schools over the last two years. We very much look forward to expanding our tribe.

the Fit creW

diarmuid lyng Soar is a journey into the circular nature of things. We get to sit and listen to young people and their innate wisdom. They allow us beyond the sheen of perfection that has sometimes been championed in previous generations. There’s personal learning in that. In those experiences, we get to see the magic of what is ordinary.

orlagh o’ Reilly The Soar journey has been one of self-discovery. Through this discovery of who I really am, I find that I am better able to connect with the students on our program. Some students leave such an impression on me that I still think about them months after the workshop has ended.

Clodagh leonard re can be droughts and The journey is lifelong and the to help the wonderful floods. I relish the opportunity ngthen their oars for young people we work with stre remember to bask in when the waters get rough and the sun on the good days.

Sinead murray “Two roads diverged in a wood and I chose the one less travelled...” Soar for me has been an unknown path that has brought with it some incredible new experiences, invaluable learning and has led me to some phenomenal people. It has been a gift that I have received with honour and one that I look forward to bringing to others with pride in 2015.

mick donovan Soar creates a space for people to chat about life and its ups and downs in a way that many could not befor e. It allows people to listen to the stories of others and take from it what they need. It’s powerful, courageou s and beautiful.

Ronan Conway , what One day 4 years ago, someone asked me “well would it g sayin mber reme I be?” job ideal would your myself involve being in a room with lots of people, being there was and spreading the love. At the time I thought no such job, until I found Soar.

A Few Highlights of the Year We would like to share with you some of the highlights of this last year. These happenings came to be as a direct result of the support, belief and love of our incredible community, our tribe. Thank you.

4900

young people

experienced the

Soar program in 2014.

We ran our first

out-of-school workshop in Wexford Town.

Mark McDonnell joined the Soar team as Operations Manager.

Soar moved home from Sean MacBride House in Temple Bar to The Chocolate Factory across the Liffey.

We ran our first workshop in Northern Ireland and brought together an inspirational group of young people from both Catholic and Protestant schools.

We now have an amazing, highly skilled, tuned-in and passionate team of 6 Facilitators in Training – The FIT Crew – delivering workshops across the country.

joined the Soar team and is now taking care of research, finance and logistics.

€321,641

was raised in private funding in 2014 that helps us to reach young people all across Ireland.

Tom Harkin from the Reach Foundation in Australia joined us for 3 months, and the entire Soar team went through intensive trainings - growing, learning, and connecting.

We created our first Finance and Sustainability team

Patrick Cusack became Soar’s first Chairperson.

Teenage

Kicks

Our event in June was a lovely highlight to our community gatherings.

Les Kiss & Joe Schmidt created a brilliant fundraising evening at Foxrock golf club.

We partnered with the

Gaelic Players Association to create a week long emotional wellbeing camp for 13 year old boys and girls from inner city Dublin and Ballymun.

We have

in training to carry out Soar’s work.

We have been fortunate enough to have 17 transition year students do their work experience with Soar.

We formed our

—youth collective— this is a group of 15 young people who will guide and inspire Soar.

We worked in

10 primary schools and

61 secondary schools in 19 counties

all across Ireland.

Our brand spanking new website is live and kicking. Check it out:

WWW.SOAR.IE

The first young people to go through the Soar program started university. Our brilliant partner

Ecclesiastical nailed their annual table quiz in aid of Soar.

We created and delivered an inspirational breakout workshop held in Dublin as part of the international

We were delighted to be invited to speak at the

DCU Alumni & Ryan Foundation Social Enterprise Evening

One Young World Summit Friend of Soar

‘Night of Passion’

James Lynch

Soar champion Kate O’Dwyer organised ‘Night of Passion’ in April at the Freemasons’ Hall. The night saw some of Ireland’s most creative and innovative people come together for an inspirational night with all proceeds going directly to Soar.

Amazing!

Two brilliant guys

George Kingston —&—

Terrence O’Donoghue organised a music festival

Sunsets during the summer, in aid of Soar.

swam the length of Lough Derg (38 Km!) from Portumna, Co. Galway to Killaloe, Co. Clare in aid of Soar.

Soar was selected as cause of choice for one of the most fun adventure races in Ireland,

The Connemara Rough Diamond Tony represented Soar brilliantly at the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awards 2014 held in Christchurch Cathedral.

SoaR IS a youTH dRIven oRganISaTIon. THe WISdom ComeS FRom young people SHaRIng THeIR eXpeRIenCe and peRSonal JouRneyS. SoaR doeS noT Have all THe anSWeRS. We neveR ClaIm To. WHaT We do IS belIeve In young people To InSpIRe eaCH oTHeR To lIve moRe FulFIlled and Happy lIveS.

Emma

Young people are the future. Yet, most often we are not taken seriously. We’re told what to do and when to do it. Self-expression is often oppressed. it sometimes feels like our problems are over looked, brushed aside. We are adolescents who are treated like children and expected to act like adults. our issues are not yet “of the real world”. considered selfcentred and unknowledgeable, not many people are willing to listen to us. but we have fiery minds. insights that most people wouldn’t believe. the Soar program takes us seriously. Listens to us. opens up to us and gives us an empowering feeling to open up to others.

Luke When you’re a teen you make a lot of memories from your first kiss to the first time you buy your dad a drink in the pub. being a teen has so many good things about it, like making friends, experimenting with different things and learning interesting subjects. it’s an exploratory time. the negatives about being a teen are being bullied for what you are, what you wear and how you look. other teens can be cruel and then can mess you up for years.

You want to be popular. You want to fit in. You change yourself so much that you and your peers become identical and you’ve wasted a significant amount of time and money to be just like them, and still they don’t accept you. You worry too much about pleasing Roisin others and not enough about pleasing teenagers in ireland today grow up quicker, earlier. We are influenced greatly ourselves. You spend so much time with by what we see and what is shown to us by the media. things like how we other people trying to get them to like you look and dress and how we act in different situations are often not based on that you start to know them better then you what we actually think but what we’ve been told we should think. most of us know yourself. You start doing things you aren’t aware of how much we’re influenced by these external factors. know you shouldn’t do because they do. You can sometimes grow further away from being part of a huge network of young people is not all bad though. though we may feel pressurised to be certain things by what other people do on your family by doing these things and in social networks or by what we see on the internet, we also have far more the end when you’ve finally realised what’s channels and ways of finding and connecting with people who have similar really going on, you go back home and the interests to us. a more open world means more possibilities and more relationship with your family is torn apart. chances to spread great, world-changing ideas. also, when you’re in school teenagers are under so much pressure to learn 11 subjects within a certain space of time. We stay up all night studying, eating plans gets messed up we are put under so much stress. then finally on the big day of the exams you choke, and can’t remember a thing and even if you do remember, trying to spit out 3 years of work in 2 and a half hours is insane. teenagers shouldn’t be put under that much stress and pressure. there must be a better way.

We WanT ouR young people To be TRue To THeIR HeaRT’S Call, To lIve THeIR beST lIFe poSSIble. THIS WIll poSITIvely ImpaCT on THe WellbeIng oF THouSandS, aS Well aS on ouR gReaT CounTRy. HeRe aRe a FeW WoRdS FRom young people We aRe So gRaTeFul To, FoR WRITIng To uS abouT THeIR eXpeRIenCe oF WHaT IT’S lIKe To be a young peRSon In IReland Today.

Alex

everything you do, every move you make is monitored and scrutinised by every person imaginable. Your friends, family and teachers watch everything you do to make sure it conforms to their ideals. it is rare when a decision you make is solely your decision. the law of the land dictates the rules you obey and often these mean making decisions based on what others want above what you want. alongside this pressure from other people’s influences is the bigger issue, yourself. as a teenager, everything i do must be analysed to the point where i’m comfortable that it is acceptable to the rest of the world. every conversation, statement of belief or move i make, i second guess to make sure that it is what everyone else would want. i have a fear that if i am not doing what everyone else thinks i should be doing then i am not doing it right. the media portrayal of youth drinking, smoking and partying makes it seem like these are the people you want to be. this is the image that we portray as ‘cool’. What feels like a constant negative portrayal of young people has a huge impact on the teenagers of our society. this is one of the reasons Soar’s ideas ring so true. Soar puts normal young people into schools and it creates better role models for teenagers than the media does. it shows teenagers that to be a happy successful person you don’t have to be on tv drinking yourself to an early death but rather the person deep at heart that you know you are.

Rosie

i would love to be able to stray away from the usual path of life and do something different. to do this, i get the impression i have to be brilliant, a genius, a sports star or even a prolific musician. it feels as if i have no extremely obvious talent, there is no use in me trying to break away from the system. am i better off just following the path most people take? i hope not. i suppose it feels like there is something important burning inside of me but no one else can see it.

having the Soar crew come to speak in schools shows teenagers that being different is okay and being yourself is the most important thing. every part of being a teenager is hard from stresses of parents, exams pressure from friends to the struggle to find yourself. this small snapshot as to the difficulty of being a teenager is tiny compared to the full picture. i feel it is very rare for someone or something to try to make teenage life easier but Soar is doing everything it can to help relieve some of the pressure for teenagers. being a teenager is not a solely negative experience. it is a time in which you establish who you are and who you want to be. You create relationships with some of the most important people in your life. it can be a time of great joy as many of our first experiences will come as a teenager.

Soar have been coming to our school, Killina presentation Secondary School in Rahan, Co. offaly, each year since 2012. from that first session with tony and Karl, it was clear to see that this workshop was like no other. it was transformational, not only for the students, but also for me and the teaching staff. it was an experience to witness the courage and bravery of some of our students speaking up and speaking out in front of their peers, their teacher and these two new ‘strangers’. no longer was there a subject that was taboo. Good news travels fast, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. much progress has been made, and nobody who had been in that room has ever forgotten the profound impact it had. i have seen the development of many of our students in terms of leadership, expression, personal maturity and general wellbeing in many fields. their attitudes towards each other and themselves have been very respectful, and conflicts are resolved quickly, if and when they occur. i often remember the quote by one of our students after a particularly powerful and emotional session; he said “don’t ever do that again sir... but, it was the best thing we’ve ever done!” behind the vulnerability he and they all felt, was a comfort in the realisation that this workshop would change their lives for the better. no more hiding. i feel hugely lucky to witness the great work being done by the Soar team, and long may it last. James mulligan Teacher, Killina Presentation Secondary School, Co. Offaly

Firstly, I would like to say a huge thank you to all the team for the professionalism, skill, care and inspiration you showed to our students in our recent workshops. the feedback we have received from students and parents has been immensely positive. the students all say that it has been one of the best, if not the very best thing they have ever done in school. they all learned a lot about themselves and each other and the Year Group have become tighter and more supportive as a result. personally, i found the two days to be nothing short of inspirational. Your model is superb and your delivery was so so impressive. thank you so much. padraig Conaty Head of Third Year, St. Andrews College, Booterstown Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin

i have never

in my TWenTy years in sChools, seen a program like this that has left such a

lasTing impression. Joe Dolan, TY Co-ordinator, Scoil Chonglais PPS, Baltinglass, Co Wicklow.

Soar Culture the culture of Soar is evolving as more young people become exposed to the work. it is a movement that is growing organically, defined by the collective wisdom of those within our passionate tribe. Whenever we feel we are getting close to defining it something else pops into our orbit. it is great to see that although we spend so much time together, our tribe is less defined by how they look, but by the way in which they carry themselves and how they treat those they encounter. they are all without doubt following their heart’s call. Soar is blessed to have such an incredible mix of people so committed to the empowerment of our young people. the essence of Soar’s culture at this point speaks in single words rather than sentences. So, here goes...

freeing. real. aCCepTing. auThenTiC. maveriCk. loving. progressive. evolving. empoWering. passionaTe. eXCiTing. DifferenT. Challenging. open. hopeful. bolD. Diverse. our Higher purpose empowering our young people to live a more courageous and authentic life, contributes to their wellbeing. this impacts in a very positive way their capacity to contribute to society. the ripple effect of Soar’s contribution to this end is already being felt throughout the country even though our work has only begun. 20

“Soar dareS You, to be You.” — bobbie Hickey, age 16 — 21

purpose and method: over the last 18 months, we have engaged in critical research to monitor and evaluate the impact of Soar transition Year workshops on young people. the survey was designed in partnership with new philanthropy Capital (npC) and addresses eight aspects of subjective well-being; self-esteem, emotional well-being, resilience, satisfaction with friends, satisfaction with family, satisfaction with community, satisfaction with school, and life satisfaction. By working with npC, the results were scored relative to the uK national baseline of subjective wellbeing amongst young people. By means of three online surveys, 200 participants agreed to repeatedly evaluate their subjective wellbeing; the first, one week before a Soar workshop, the second, immediately after a Soar workshop, and the third and final survey, eight to twelve months following a Soar workshop.

Mayo 46

Findings: our research findings can be broken down into two categories and within these categories there are three sets of results: pre-workshop (one set of results), and post workshop (two sets of results).

Galway 222

the pre-workshop results suggest that the group had a low level of emotional well-being relative to the uK national baseline; a medium level of self-esteem, resilience, satisfaction with friends, and life satisfaction; and a high level of satisfaction with family, community and school. the results from the first follow up survey show a significant 21% increase in self-esteem, and life satisfaction (up 18%) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; particularly amongst males (up 39% and 33% respectively). Resilience increased by 17% amongst females.

Clare 162

the second follow up survey took place eight to twelve months after the workshop. again, there was significant improvement in self-esteem of 15% amongst males compared to the initial pre-workshop survey. this improvement in self-esteem following the workshop translated into an increase of 17% in resilience amongst males. Satisfaction with school amongst females decreased by 10%. however, this can be attributed to exam stress as a large portion of the final data collection took place in all girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; schools during the exam period - 84% of survey participants.

Limerick 93

overall, the results indicate that Soarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s workshops have a significantly positive influence on the levels of wellbeing among the young people who participated in the study, particularly males. We are passionately committed to assessing the influence of Soar workshops on the well-being of the young people with whom we work. this research process has served as a learning tool for Soar in how to effectively and reliably monitor and evaluate the impact of the Soar program, and how best we can utilise the findings to improve Soar workshops. We will continue to develop our research method so we can empirically illustrate that by positively impacting on the emotional wellbeing, resiliency, and self-esteem of a young person, their overall subjective well-being can improve. 22

Kerry 100

Cork 13

Donegal 75

Antrim 255

Armagh 281

Cavan 54 Meath 446 Dublin 1815 Offaly 142 Laois 85

Tipperary 164

Wicklow 240

Kilkenny 304 Wexford 266

Waterford 137

antrim armagh Cavan Clare Cork Donegal Dublin Galway Kerry Kilkenny laois limerick mayo meath offaly tipperary Waterford Wexford Wicklow Total

225 281 54 162 13 75 1815 222 100 304 85 93 46 446 142 164 137 266 240 4900 23

Young People are leading the movement Soar is about empowering young people to drive the spirit of the organisation. We are listening and are very fortunate to have young people contact us through email, letters and feedback following our workshops. We are reading these and implementing this feedback in our workshops and are constantly doing our utmost to improve how we operate in a way that best serves our country’s young people. We are currently working hard on a week-long work placement program for transition year students to become more involved in the day to day operations. These students will also attend some workshops alongside our facilitators. We have been so blessed to have 17 special souls do their work placement in our office in 2014.

The Youth Collective Since Soar’s inception, we have always felt the absolute importance of having young people not only involved, but leading this movement. The guidance, inspiration and creativity young people offer is something we not only desire but need, to stay true to our mission. Working with this idea of ‘young people inspiring young people’, in 2014 we created our first Youth Collective. This group of approximately 15 incredible people meet up at least quarterly but communicate frequently providing brilliant ideas, guidance, feedback on our operations and programs, and an unmatchable insight into what it means to be a teenager in Ireland today. Made up of young people from all parts of the country and from all walks of life, we love their spark of wildness and their drive in creating something powerful for other young people like themselves.

I truly believe

that every person

especially

young people,

have unlimited potential and that we all have

which wants

to be heard. Deep down, behind all the bullshit, we just want to be ourselves, and when young people are given the opportunity to express their real selves they can achieve whatever they want and they can have all the love, happiness and success they require. Very often this process starts simply by someone believing in them. - Jim Stynes

Where it all began:

Thank You to The Reach Foundation From the very moment Tony and I became aware of The Reach Foundation we sensed that it could potentially have a huge impact on the young people of Ireland. It was co-founded by Australian film director and producer Paul Currie and Jim Stynes, an Irishman who travelled to Australia as a teenager destined to become a legend both on and off the pitch in his beloved Melbourne. His experience in the Gaeltacht in Ireland inspired him in the creation of Reach. Jim sadly died in March 2012, but his legacy and wisdom continues to work through Soar and in the lives of the young people it encounters in his homeland. His memory inspires us every day and continually reminds us why we do what we do. The Reach Foundation in Australia have received us with open arms and we are eternally grateful to them for taking a chance and believing in the mission that Tony and I were on when we showed up unannounced at their offices in October 2011. We remain very close and feel that our shared passion for young people will keep us closely aligned well into the future. Since we first connected, we’ve gotten to know master facilitators Tom Harkin and Emeli Paulo of Reach very well. They are considered part of the Soar family. We have been honoured and blessed with the time, energy, commitment and love they have shown Tony, myself and the wider Soar family. Both were mentored directly by Jim and Paul. Tom and Emeli have really accelerated and amplified the training of our facilitators. They are both incredible people and we are forever grateful. We have welcomed a number of ‘Reachites’ to our shores and will always have the kettle on. It is also very important to express our deepest gratitude to Don McLardy, former Chairman of Reach and Melbourne Football Club. He believed in us when we were trying to convince ourselves and one another that we could really do this. Thank you to all of our Reach brothers and sisters. Karl Swan Co-Founder of Soar 25

A note from Tom Harkin

Facilitator trainer, Friend and Mentor to Soar In April of 2014, I arrived in Dublin to spend four months with Soar’s co-founders Karl and Tony and their passionate staff Mark, Ciara and Sinéad. The key job was to bring with me the essence of 13 years with Jim Stynes’ and Paul Currie’s Reach Foundation and create a training program to help Soar’s 20 or so passionate 20 somethings deliver workshops that create environments for Irish teens to take hold of their life narratives authoring their futures and hopefully rattling the cage of Ireland’s future. I was lucky enough to be invited into Irish homes, schools, GAA clubs, weddings and corporations in a full cultural immersion. Being of Irish blood, I felt more at home at times in Ireland than I have at home in Australia. There’s a soulfulness and play to the Irish that I found infectious and a poetic nature running in the veins along with a passionate tribal spirit and strong sense of community that I got to experience first-hand. I’ve never been more excited about the power of this work with young people to have wide spread positive impact as I was in Ireland. .

This can sometimes look like positive rebellion in the form of un-conventional dreams being pursued, and confidence inhibiting behavioural norms transformed to liberate the potential of our youth. I’m excited to play a part assisting a gutsy, determined and passionate group of Irish people spearheaded by Tony Griffin and Karl Swan, a warrior and a wise man. Jim Stynes inspired me as a rebellious young person by showing me through his example that we can and should break rules. We should break old and outdated rules that say young people should only speak when spoken too. We should break rules that create taboos that trap people in a lonely and shameful existence and we should break rules that say we shouldn’t air our dirty laundry and express our feelings because that’s weak. Young people all over the world are dying to be heard and understood and we should provide a space that enables this. Sharing our life experiences frees us from feeling alone, and energy spent pretending and hiding our truth is freed up to help us realise our potential by expressing ourselves in the world through our chosen vocations and the families and communities we create.

The youth of Ireland and the country itself seems to be trembling with an impending eruption of exciting change that will see its youth stay on the soil of their great country knowing the door is open for them to write a new chapter that does their progressive reality justice and at the same time honours some of the above stated jewels of Irish culture built through the hard work of its elders. Soar is daring to break new ground and putting young people centre stage enabling them to shape the future narrative of Ireland. I for one am excited for the day when people look back on where this inspiring organisation began and will be proud to have my name amongst those that knew it when it was young and full of latent potential now realised. I encourage you to do something for Ireland via Ireland’s youth through the vehicle of Soar if you haven’t already. I know I’m not done yet. Attend one Soar workshop and you’ll see how exciting tomorrow could look if we have the courage to unleash the raw, unadulterated passion of our youth and let it cause glorious constructive havoc, before we beat it out of them with societal norms that worked yesterday and are redundant today. 26

om Harkinmmer facilitating a We love yomuonT su ths with us last ring

t to Soar du Tom spent four His commitmen d. rio pe ng ni ai tr e to Soar. He very intense the highest valu ld ho ill w e nc si nce of his this period and shared the esse ly us ro ne ge d an ur. We are also so unconditionally us. What an hono ith w m do is w â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s homeland. Soar immense e learning in Jim th ed ar sh m To her, our mentor grateful that r friend, our brot ou to ul ef at gr and as a will forever be of us personally ch ea ve ga he t wha entored Tom Harkin for m, Tom in turn m To d re to en m ynes u Tom. 27 collective. Jim St eful. We love yo at gr lly na er et e Soar. We ar

A FEW SPECIAL HAPPENINGS

2014 has been huge for Soar, and has been marked by some very special events:

Connecting with Maynooth University

In 2014, Soar was hugely honoured to be chosen as Maynooth Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union cause of choice for 2014/2015. In our time as their cause of choice, we will run a mix of bespoke fundraising events and emotional well-being workshops as well as engaging regularly with the student body to increase their awareness of Soar. Thank you maynooth.

One Young World @ The Chocolate Factory

In October, Dublin hosted the One Young World Summit, a global forum for young leaders aged 18-30 who gathered together to empower young people to develop solutions to global issues and to cultivate an impactful youth community. Soar was asked by Vodafone to create and deliver a workshop for attendees from all across the globe, from varying backgrounds and professions. The aim of the workshop was to connect the group with their heart and explore their potential for greater impact. The bravery, energy and passion evident in that room was a testament to incredible young people not settling for the norm, but empowered to instigate change.

The Jim Stynes Tribute Hellfire Run

Sunday the 13th of July marked a special day for Soar. We had the opportunity to acknowledge Jim Stynes’ lasting influence with an intimate gathering in the Wicklow Mountains, where some of Jim’s ashes are spread. The Soar community was joined by Jim’s parents Tess and Brian, as well as Tom Harkin of the Reach Foundation and Jim’s long-time friend Ciaran. The Wicklow Mountains served as a fitting backdrop to this special tribute to Jim, as well as a celebration of the growing relationship between Soar and the Reach foundation.

‘Teenage Kicks’ at The Chocolate Factory

brought together 30 young people and 30 adult supporters to explore their own experiences of being a 16 year old and to discuss what it means to be a teenager today. This was a hugely experiential night where everyone got the chance to engage authentically. Soar is enabling a movement, and this night brought our workshops to life for many people who want to be part of real change in Irish society.

Connecting with the Gaelic Players Association (GPA)

Soar ran the first community camp in partnership with the Gaelic Players Association (GPA). We worked with the GPA to create and deliver a 4 day program for 35 young people from schools in Ballymun and inner city Dublin. Young people were given the opportunity to partake in a community camp to which they would not normally have access. The reaction to this workshop from both the young people and the GPA was overwhelmingly positive with exciting plans in place to work together in the future.

Ben Grout from London, on his personal experience of Soar’s One Young World event

“To say that the workshop changed my life does not do justice to the impact that those few hours had. The Soar facilitators took the entire group along an interactive journey of self-discovery. Through open discussions of our life experiences and the emotions that these invoked, each member of the group gained a greater understanding of themselves and the others around them. The team effortlessly facilitated these dialogues in an inclusive and safe environment allowing each person to embrace their vulnerability and become empowered. I found it incredible how such a contrasting range of people from over 30 different countries and backgrounds could bond so passionately in such a short space of time. I have worked with a large number of youth organisations and to me, Soar stands out as a game changer at the forefront of this space”. 29

Looking to the Future:

Strategic Objectives

We have continued to develop all areas of our organisation, being constantly guided by the question:

“Is this the best decision for young people receiving workshops?” Due to the conclusion of Soar’s initial three year cycle, we have put in place a 2 year road map to guide us along the next stage of our journey. This process was both insightful and exciting as we had representation from the Soar team, facilitators and young people from all over Ireland, contributing to the next stage of the movement. We would like to express our gratitude to our good friend Maritza Tucker from MT Impact Consulting for helping us along the way in this process, and expressing such care for Soar while doing so. 30

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1:

Deliver the most relevant and responsive experiential programmes that have a lasting positive impact in young people’s wellbeing in Ireland WORK AREA

Secondary Schools based workshops - TY

OUTPUTS

OUTCOMES

Jan – Dec 2015

Jan – Dec 2016

Sessions delivered for approx. 6,800 young people in schools around the country

Sessions delivered for approx. 9,400 young people in schools around the country.

Follow up plan in place, to track longer term impact of workshops

Improved and sustained awareness and love of self and others, self confidence, life satisfaction and a desire for action amongst young participants, leading to increased citizenship Connect with young people outside of the school system to continue their journey of self discovery and life satisfaction

Workshops for primary school children - 6th

County/regional delivery model for primary schools piloted in Clare and Dublin.

Out of school programmes

Weekend or day camps delivered outside of the school system for young Continuation of weekend/day people to continue to engage with Soar camps delivered outside of the school system for young people Specific Boys/Girls Programs developed to offer young groups outside to continue to engage with Soar of the school system Identification and feasibility study carried out for additinoal Programs outside of the school system

Virtual/ social media

Soar’s social media strategy agreed and rolled out, with increased outreach by making our online presence as interactive as possible

Evolution and roll out of social media strategy

Digital communications plan agreed and rolled out to increase online funding mechanisms

County/regional delivery model rolled out across the country

Analysis of current program to ensure high impact among recipients

Soar’s Disconnect to Reconnect campaign including Facebook Free February to raise awareness of personal interaction in nurturing relationships

Youth facilitators (aged 18-27)/ peer-to-peer model

Performance Pathway (ENGAGE-> RECRUIT-> DEVELOP-> ACCREDIT-> SUPPORT) agreed and rolled out

10 youth facilitators active in the field

8 youth facilitators active in the field

20 new youth facilitators recruited and in training

Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)

M&E strategy agreed and in place to investigate areas of international/ national wellbeing for young people

20 new youth facilitators recruited and in training

Results from Soar’s first wellbeing evaluation published, learned from and disseminated Partnership with a University in place, and plan for Stage 2 of M&E work jointly designed

Stage 2 of M&E work rolled out with support from University partner.

Complement and reinforce Soar in and out of school programmes, towards sustained young people’s inspiration and positive action

Effective delivery of Soar programmes for young people, also enabling scalability and contributing to relevance and sustainability of Soar programmes

Soar demonstrates the difference it is making in young people’s lives and becomes a strong voice on youth issues in Ireland Soar understands where value is added relative to the young people it serves, and plans accordingly Soar strongly positioned in the wellbeing space in Ireland, evidenced by feedback from program evaluation

looking to the Future:

Strategic objectives STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2:

Become a recognised champion of youth knowledge and wisdom in Ireland WORK AREA

OUTPUTS Jan – Dec 2015

Knowledge capture and management

Disseminating knowledge

Jan – Dec 2016

Systems to collect, manage and share wisdom from the young people we work with, developed and working

Look to align with similar national/international organisations for mutual Youth Sounding Board fully active, involving 20 young people aged 15 to learnings 19, and contributing to Soar’s strategy, organisational affairs as well as to Soar’s knowledge hub Continue to bring young people through our Youth Sounding Board Best formats for dissemination e.g. testimonials, video, case studies, public speaking, etc, identified Audiences for dissemination identified in line with SO3 (see next)

Engagement / Advocacy?

OUTCOMES

Work with people/organisations who are genuinely concerned with the well-being of young people

Soar is recognised as a champion of youth wisdom in Ireland due to authentic engagement with young people Soar is able to assist in wider discussions/decisionmaking where appropriate for the purpose of benefiting young people

Continuous assessment of the most impactful means of knowledge dissemination to best serve young people Work with people/organisations who are genuinely concerned with the well-being of young people

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3:

Contribute to a supportive environment for young people’s well being WORK AREA

OUTPUTS

OUTCOMES

Jan – Dec 2015

Jan – Dec 2016

Work with teachers and schools

Soar workbook created and available, to support teachers following on from our Primary school program

Teachers’ programme (including training on engagement skills and the ‘Soar approach’ to reach young people,) explored

Improved delivery of life skills in schools

Information/ awareness for parents

Parents information pack developed and circulated to schools, prior to and immediately after the delivery of Soar’s school-based workshops

Parents programme (including training on engagement skills and the ‘Soar approach’ to reach young people,) explored

Increased parent understanding of Soar’s programme, and support for their children

Parents information pack available on Soar’s website

Strategic Alliances Identification and approach to organisations, government entities,

businesses, academia etc. that could assist each other in serving young people

A collaborative approach to investigating and taking measures to assist the development of young people

Teachers programme represents an established income generator for Soar

looking to the Future:

Strategic objectives STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4:

Continue to develop Soar to become a leading organisation in youth wellbeing in Ireland WORK AREA

Management and organisation

OUTPUTS

OUTCOMES

Jan – Dec 2015

Jan – Dec 2016

Soar’s culture clearly defined, articulated and incorporated into its recruitment processes

Structured planning in place to recruit internally and externally as Soar requires

Tribal gathering as a community to assess our culture Structures in place to transition Soar from early start up to established organisation Succession plan on-going, reviewed and acted upon to ensure Soars planned evolution

A strong management team and resources within Soar enable delivery of most effective Soar programmes

Tribal gathering as a community to assess our culture Pathways and measures of appreciation in place to keep volunteers engaged and fulfilled

Plans in place and robust database to continue to build our community of volunteers Development and roll-out of Soars well-being program to support our team and facilitators. Complete an updated OCAP in conjunction with the support of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland

Operations

CRM system in place

Continued strategic objectives assessment to determine New premises for Soar, that reflect its culture and plans, identified and where Soar needs to be for in place, in Dublin young people in relation to Soar space available within new premises and actively used for Soar out organisational and operational capacity of school programmes Soar’s space potential hire use, for external activity in line with its mission, assessed

Governance

Existing Board developed and performing effectively, efficiently and as a unified body Board performance assessed, with data feeding new approaches as necessary (Annex 7 of Soar’s P&P Manual provides a set of appraisal questionnaires) Board members successfully providing mentorship to Soar staff and volunteers, as appropriate

Assessment of Board carried out Soar governing bodies understand their respective to investigate composition and roles and to fulfil it recruit if necessary Soar is led by a high performing board of directors, Assessment to establish to with fresh input from young people in Ireland what extent Youth Sounding Board is contributing to Soars development

AGM successfully held Youth Sounding Board actively contributing to Soar’s decision-making processes including meeting with the Soar Board Soar’s Policies and Procedures Manual reviewed, and new regulations relating to Child Protection, Charity Law and Best Practice incorporated in the document

Income and funding

Income Generation Plan agreed, reflecting diverse income sources with a special focus on sustainable income generation to raise €600,000 in current financial year

Evaluation of previous Income Increased financial sustainability Generation Plan, learnings taken and new plan in place

Suitable financial mechanisms investigated and rolled out which will transition Soar to a more self-sustaining model

Continue Soar’s progression to a self-sustaining model

Soar’s robust financial analysis and reporting framework signed off and in operation

Social enterprise in early stage development

Commercial ventures explored to determine suitable Social Enterprise options, such as a Soar café

The Soar board

message from pat Cusack, Chairman of the Soar board

the importance of having a good board cannot be underestimated in order to maintain high quality and sustainability in our work. our board is made up of mavericks, leaders, achievers and action orientated dreamers. We appreciate the strong group of talented and successful leaders in their respected field who have become our board.

2014 was an amazing year for Soar. the swan finally took off.

the board governs all aspects of the organisation from advocacy, fundraising, welfare and strategic direction with the primary focus on what will benefit the young people we are trying to reach. board members throughout 2014 included pat cusack, Susan mcGovern, ruairí mcKiernan, clíona diggins, bruce mansour, darren ryan, and Liam Laffey. a special word of thanks to our two outgoing board members ian Kingston and diarmuid Lyng. ian will no doubt continue to be a friend of Soar, while positively impacting people’s lives through his work with essential training. We are delighted to say that diarmuid has taken up a facilitator position with the Soar crew.

a swan requires a lot of energy and effort to take off and a long waterway to reach take off speed. but when the frenzy of effort converts into flight, it soars beautifully. this year Soar took to the air and completed the three year cycle of organisational and program development that sees it ready to increase its impact in a sustainable way. up to 2013, Soar workshops were essentially down to tony and Karl, but they had a plan. early in 2014 (when funds were tight) they made a big call to bring tom harkin over from the reach foundation in australia. Soar had identified new potential facilitators and tom set about ensuring they had the right stuff. the end result is that Soar now has an extended facilitation team. the board and management has huge confidence in this team to serve a wider audience of young people in ireland. 2014 was also about growth in the backroom team but at all times this was achieved with a mind-set of sustainability. Soar thinks like a community not an organisation because Soar has seen the failure of seeing ireland only as an economy. We want this to rub off in the Soar workshops – our children understanding how to rekindle that community spirit which has been ireland’s bedrock, our children being gently shown how to believe in themselves and not always look elsewhere for answers. The ship is truly sailing now, 2015 will be huge for Soar. get on-board.

margaret lynch, mother of eimhear lynch from Killaloe, Co. Clare, on how Soar has changed their lives for the better

When eimhear came home from school following the Soar workshop in her transition year absolutely gushing about her experience, little did i think that this was the beginning of a transformation from the teenager i knew and loved to the young adult who i would come to respect and admire also. i found on a personal note that the typical teenage rows disappeared and were replaced with mature discussions. I could no longer just try to enforce my own opinions with the usual â&#x20AC;&#x153;because I said soâ&#x20AC;?. She became more outspoken, strong willed and determined to rationally discuss whatever was going on and have her feelings and opinions both validated and recognised. It took a while to get used to this new form of parenting, I will admit, but it has made our relationship much stronger and even better than it was before. The emotional support that Eimhear has given us and indeed the extended family circle through some very difficult times has been immeasurable and invaluable. These personal and

people skills I believe have been developed and nurtured as a result of her Soar experience. I cannot express enough my sense of pride when she organised an anti-bullying day in her school. She campaigned tirelessly throughout the school for all pupils to wear pink in solidarity with the cause. Witnessing the support she received, as it was a huge success, I realised that the Soar experience had indeed a huge positive impact on Eimhear and that she was now passionate to make a difference in life wherever she could. It would be fair to say that I am also a little in awe of Eimhear and her capabilities. This new direction that Eimhearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life has taken has been enriched and positively influenced by the Soar experience and indeed her relationship with the Soar facilitators, and that in turn has filtered through to me personally. Her enthusiasm, like all the Soar team, is infectious and we can all do nothing else but get on board and share her journey and support her in any and every way possible. 35

FINANCIALS

Delivering TransformaTive emoTional Wellbeing Workshops for young people is

The reason soar eXisTs. To ensure this, we recognise the importance of having the best possible sustainable financial model. We have worked extremely hard during the financial year September 2013 to September 2014 on all parts of our financial framework.

Income

The Year Ahead

in the period September 2013 to September 2014 Soar generated a total of €321,641. Some incredible people have come into our world through foundations, grants and other charities to help us achieve this.

We are responding to the demand from young people for our programs and yet we are very conscious of growing at a steady and considered pace to ensure our resources are focused on delivering workshops, rather than supporting a large infrastructure.

We have worked especially hard to develop funds from foundations and other nGos passionate about empowering young people, these have contributed €121,400 over the last financial year. our corporate and individual partners continue to believe in the work we are doing and have contributed a total of €134,290 this year.

We have considered the previous financial year and taken all factors into account when arriving at our projected income target for 2014/15. as with most things in Soar, it is a combination of real ambition tempered with realism and consideration.

the table below illustrates the various streams of income generated in the last financial year 2013/14 and also includes projected income for 2014/15: Income €’s total income monthly average founding friends of Soar Global clan foundations, Grants & other charities corporate partners events Soar community Workshop fees direct debits/other collaborations *Projected

2013/14 2014/15* 321,641 659,000 26,803 54,917 59,295 n/a 121,400 75,290 13,879 10,000 26,832 14,944 n/a

125,000 45,000 145,000 130,000 70,000 20,000 81,000 31,000 12,000

this period will see Soar strive towards a more self-sustaining funding model. this will be achieved through our revised workshop fee structure that has been researched with teachers to arrive at what we feel is an appropriate fee to honour the value of our work, while also considering the demand on school budgets. We request €500 per workshop for up to 50 young people, or €10 per young person once the group is over 50 (i.e. 65 young people = €650). however, a lack of school funding will not prevent us from reaching young people. our ‘pass-it-on’ campaign will allow us reach schools that may not have the resources. this campaign will harness the energy and desire of young people who have experienced the workshops, and provide a platform for them to raise funds to provide other schools with the opportunity to experience a Soar workshop.

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Expenditure

The Year Ahead

The funding received in the period September 2013 to September 2014 has enabled Soar to put in place key people, frameworks and training. Prior to 2014, Soar had worked with roughly 2,500 young people through our workshops. 2014 saw Soar engage with 4,737 young people.

Program delivery costs will increase for the period 2014/15 due to the increased number of facilitators delivering workshops. Currently, our facilitators are paid on a workshop by workshop basis. As the demand for workshops continues, we envisage the need for some facilitators to progress to full-time roles. We have made a significant investment in training our first group of facilitators and trust them to bring a quality based approach to the workshops in this period of expansion, in a manner that best serves Soar and the wellbeing of Ireland’s young people. Our operational costs will increase slightly with the introduction of our Child Protection and Well-being Manager. This is one of the final medium term positions needed for Soar to ensure the required levels of care are met for the young people we engage with and for our group of facilitators out on the road.

We are comprised of a small operational team who drive all areas of the organisation from; Programs and workshops, fund generation and support, organisational management and development, advocacy, board development and events and communications. For the period 2013/14 operational outgoings totalled €172,878. Facilitator and workshop delivery costs are centred on an incredible group of 18-27 year old facilitators in schools delivering Soar’s workshops. These costs amounted to €34,741 for last year. Our organisational model is geared towards outsourcing expertise to ensure all areas of Soar are functioning at the highest standard possible while not incurring the overheads of unnecessary salaries. This strategy ensures we keep the organisation agile and resources can be focused on delivering quality workshops. Our external consultancy spend totalled €43,593 in 2013/14. The table below illustrates how our funds were allocated for the financial year 2013/14 and also includes projected expenditure for 2014/15: Expenditure €’s Total Expenses Monthly Average Operational Costs Consultation Office Admin Costs Programme Delivery Corporate Engagement Marketing & Promotions Research & Development *Projected

2013/14 290,877 24,240

2014/15* 356,160 29,680

172,878 43,593 23,112 3,399 34,741 2,953 9,689 512

187,000 15,600 12,200 6,720 120,140 3,500 9,000 2,000

The financial year 2014/15 will see a reduction in both consultation and accommodation costs. As our team develops and we transition from early start-up mode, the need for external consultancy reduces. In an effort to reduce overheads we have moved home with a reduction in rental fees and we are currently sourcing a long term home that suits us culturally and allows funds to go directly into delivering workshops. We would like to thank Ryan McCarthy, Liam Devane, Mike Hayes and Patrick Bolger at KPMG for their incredible support of Soar by offering their vast expertise as part of Soar’s 2013-2014 audit. Full details of this audit are available by contacting info@soar.ie. The Soar Foundation is externally audited by KPMG. A full breakdown of audited accounts can be obtained on request by contacting info@soar.ie.

Financial and Sustainability Team We are extremely fortunate to have attracted some absolute experts to assist us along the way. These incredible people are passionate about the well-being of young people and have given their time and expertise at no cost to Soar. Our financial and sustainability team is comprised of: Tony Garry, Niamh O’Carroll, Mick Kearney, Susan Dargan, Maurice Mason and Phillipa Keogh. These people are a vital component in enabling Soar to get out and do what we do! A special mention to Orla O’Dwyer, Maurice Mason and Ivan Kelly for their assistance and professionalism in all things financial! They have provided Soar with such valuable guidance in building our robust financial analysis and reporting framework.

“...the session was an absolute triumph...”

A message from Natalie Hodgess of Vodafone Ireland Foundation

On 4th July it was with some trepidation that I invited Tony and his cofacilitator into the VEC to run a Soar workshop for Vodafone employees. The trepidation was around ‘is Vodafone ready for Soar?’ Soar believes that each of us are on our own private heroic journey and create spaces for groups and individuals to explore what their unique fingerprint on the world can be. The Soar team played a clip for us to watch collectively. They then asked us how it made us feel and it was so interesting to see the vastly different responses to the same clip. The rest of the workshop focused on the core themes of diversity, relationship building and connection and I think it’s fair to say the session was an absolute triumph with people leaving the room with a new perspective and renewed respect and empathy for their fellow colleagues. Here is a message I received from a colleague after the workshop took place: ‘I just wanted to say thank you so much for organising today’s session. I have never shared my feelings so publicly and doubt I ever would have without you getting involved with Soar. Powerful. What a great organisation for Vodafone to be involved with!’ Many thanks to Soar. Keep up the good work!

“...the impact of a Soar workshop remains with me today...”

A letter from a Soar Friend, Mum, Supporter, Believer It’s easy to see why this organisation is contagious; energy, enthusiasm, honesty and empathy are its core but to really understand the meaning of Soar is to take a journey with them and visit a school. As an adult, the impact of a Soar workshop remains with me today and for some kids, it’s life changing, for others life-saving. Soar workshops help our kids to understand that they are not alone, no child is immune to peer pressure, fear, anger or hurt. Some young people simply get to the point where they feel pressure that isn’t even theirs. We as parents will never really understand how unbelievably lucky we are to have Soar out there, every day, believing in our kids and encouraging them to be themselves. In believing in their own greatness, regardless of their circumstances, they can do or be anything they want and all it takes is someone to remind them of this. So as they say themselves come with us, get involved and be part of the movement.

O M

e H T n o e v mo We have moved home from Sean macBride house, also known as the amnesty building in temple Bar, across the liffey to the Chocolate Factory, Kings inn Street, Dublin 1. the amnesty Building will always occupy a special place in Soar hearts. it has been hugely significant and was an appropriate base from which to launch a new irish movement. however, we felt Soar craved a shake-up. Built on a vision to provide a space to nurture a creative movement, the Chocolate Factory is made up of everyone from creative writers to high flying

performance artists (and the killer Blás Café to boot). it provides such an inspiring environment for Soar to drive change. this short-term move makes absolute financial sense. While we are reaching more young people and having more impact we don’t see why overheads should automatically increase. For us, it’s about remaining organisationally trim and agile to allow us serve the needs of young people. We view this situation as an ideal representation of Soar’s overall strategy.

The search will continue for soar’s long term home. for now, we have found somewhere that feels just right. 39

thanK you all So A very powerful Soar Tribe is gathering. It is a special experience to witness people from all over the world with real care for Ireland and its young people. Many of these people are unknown to each other, yet still we are coming together for the purest of reasons, to nurture our young people like elders should. Our tribe is growing every year and we are so grateful to have you.

Soar Champions We strive to honour our important work by engaging in best practice throughout all areas. the following organisations are leaders in their field and have provided us with expertise throughout the year. Sincere thanks for empowering us to be the best we can be.

Founding Friends: these individuals have shown up at such pivotal stages in Soar’s development and contributed with much needed funding, support and expertise. tony Garry, Susan dargan, michael Kearney, tony Keily, michael heavey and the members of the heavey clan. Corporate Partners Soar is collaborating with corporate partners who want to have a positive impact on ireland’s young people. they are incredible organisations built around people who are looking to assist our movement. their funding and resources have been of huge assistance.

Foundation Partners We have successfully aligned with the below partners since our inception in 2012. the funding and support received from these foundations have allowed us to have real impact. a sincere thank you from all at Soar for the opportunities provided to us this year. You are special people.

You have contributed in such a real way to our work this year. Your support, professionalism and care have made it a joy to work with you.

Sei continue to be one of the leading supports to Soar in so many different ways. Long may the journey continue.

huge thanks to natalie hodgess and her team of Sinead Goldrick and catriona o’Kane for their support as part of the vodafone World of difference program. Ireland don farrell, Susan dargan, Susan mcGovern, ian Kingston, ivan Kelly, eugene Gibbons, niamh o’carroll, pat moran, maurice mason, phillipa Keogh, rory Gillen, George boyle, Kate o’dwyer, aad design & communication, State Street, George Kingston, terrence o’donoghue, James Lynch, Jeanette Kealy, clodagh hughes, rob purcell, paul o’Sullivan, brian Gilsenan, Joe Schmidt, Les and Julie Kiss, evelyn carroll, tara o’Shea, ciara cunningham, danny boylan, maurice healy, coarlie mureau, vincent mcnally, dessie farrell and Siobhan earley. James Sexton, val ruttledge and Gerry Scullion and all at the chocolate factory. hassan, tuathal and team at blás café. thanks to microsoft volunteers Sergey Slashchev, michelle fraser and ryan mesches. thanks also to the lovely amnesty reception staff John ryan, Kay hussey and conor byrne who had to put up with a constant flow of the Soar tribe traipsing in and out of our old office. thanks also to colm o’Gorman for his belief in us. Australia the reach foundation, emeli paulo, tom harkin, (the new) paige harkin, elliot costello, emerald travel, chris moloughney, Seamus moloughney, don mcLardy, Sharon Stynes, brian and tess Stynes, alecia Whitelaw, ronan Lehane, Jennifer ring and her crew, Justin bock, Jessica baker, diarmud Kelly, Stephen Gray and all at the Wee chief. Thank you Etihad back in october 2011 Karl and tony met the then etihad ireland manager Justin Warby and Louise Wheatley and told them of the need to get to melbourne to research up close and personal the reach foundation model. they helped us get there and without this act of faith we may have

o much! missed our window and Soar may never have been created. over the three years since that first meeting etihad airways have supported us with flights, funding and by raising awareness of what we wanted for our young people. it takes a first starter and etihad airways were that and because of that they will always be a partner and dear friend to all of us at Soar. Our Gratitude to to Justin Warby - thank you Justin for believing in us that first day and acting on it. to anne tullis head of corporate affairs at etihad for sanctioning the flights each time we needed to travel to reach. thank you James hogan ceo of etihad airways - thank you for empowering us to fulfill a promise made to Jim Stynes. thank you alan Glover for being a constant friend and brother over the years. and finally thank you Louise Wheatley for holding our hands, slapping our wrists and putting an arm around our shoulders. thank You Louise, forever grateful X. Sean Coughlan from everyone at Soar we would like to pay a special tribute to Sean coughlan for his belief and guidance of Soar from day one. as the former ceo of Social entrepreneurs ireland Sean was a believer and a passionate advocate for Soar from the beginning. We wish him every success in his new challenge and equally we would like to wish his successor darren ryan good wishes in his new role as ceo. We believe in you darren and are excited to work with you in the years ahead. Finally all at Soar are so grateful to the following people for producing this beautiful publication; Susan Quirke - the heart and soul, dave darcy - the killer design, pauline rowan - for her beautiful photography and Joe murphy for bringing this huge piece of work together.

et m t s r ďŹ i n whe een b g n i v a h , with Soared by mutual introduc Soar concept e h t , s d n e i me r f h t i w d e t resona t away. straigh I have always felt there has been a critical gap in the school curriculum in terms of its failure to address the emotional intelligence space. many teenagers leave our schools without ever having explored openly with their peers the concepts of self-awareness, self-belief, empathy, and peer respect. Soar has had some spectacular success with individual cases in identifying possible cases of self-harm, very low self-esteem and bullying. but these cases can distract us in some respect from Soarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impact on all of the young people who attend the workshops. We all know children and teenagers have unlimited ability to absorb new concepts and to alter their behaviours. Getting them to be wholly open and honest with each other is a vital ingredient which Soar brings to the party. When these Soar-ies eventually find their way into the workplace, i would be hopeful that they will bring these attributes with them and be a great force for good in the community. Soar with its focus on opening minds and giving confidence to the younger generation to express themselves is making a huge difference and i have no doubt that with the incredible enthusiasm and energy of the Soar team, this will get bigger and bigger. Letter from Tony Garry Soar Founding Friend 43

Soar is a small independently funded organisation that has become a movement for young people. We have seen that it is having a real and lasting impact on the lives of young people. We are not backing down in believing in the greatness of our young people until every young person believes in their own greatness. 44

We are still setting ourselves bold ambitions and want to raise â&#x201A;Ź600,000 to reach 16,000 young people by the end of 2016. We can change everything. We can make it better. look how far weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve come. you have such a big part to play. Will you get behind us? 45

the Soar Foundation Our Current Home: the Chocolate Factory, 26 Kings inn Street, Dublin 1 info@soar.ie www.soar.ie

Facebook.com/soarireland @soar_foundation

Reg Charity no: ChY 20551