Wilson’s wins top prize at the Inaugural AIB Future Sparks School Impact Awards

TY students at Wilson’s Hospital School have won a top prize at the AIB Future Sparks School Impact Awards for a project they carried out with the Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar.

The students raised more than €5000 to upgrade emergency department facilities at the hospital, aiming to improve comfort during extended waiting periods and address overcrowding risks.

Driven by personal connections to affected family members, they raised funds through bucket collections and bake sales.

Wilson’s won the ‘Senior Small Group Financial’ category.

Read about their project here: Wilson’s YSI class work on ‘Comfort Over Crisis’

The inaugural AIB Future Sparks School Impact Awards celebrate schools that give back to the community. It received 123 submissions from 103 schools across the country, and the awards event at Croke Park on May was hosted by digital creator, presenter, and actor Muinteoir John Sharpson.

The Impact Awards centre on three pillars of activity: Environmental, Social, and Financial.

They pillars encompass a wide range of activities including volunteering, fundraising, awareness campaigns, mentoring, peer education, skills-sharing, and environmental conservation.

The programme provided rich educational resources in subject areas, such as guidance related learning, wellbeing, business, economics, accounting, TV, financial education, and home economics.

It is part of AIB’s commitment to sustainable communities.

Ann Marie Freyne, head of Retail Distribution AIB Mid East at AIB, said: “We are delighted to celebrate the outstanding contributions made by schools across Ireland through the AIB Future Sparks School Impact Awards.

“These awards enable students to leverage the skills they have acquired to make a positive impact in the community all the while fostering continuous learning and skill development.”