Last Friday, over 140 Aer Lingus staff volunteered a day’s annual leave to help transform the grounds of Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra.
The renovation project, which forms part of Difference Days, saw 140 Aer Lingus staff from a range of different departments, including pilots, cabin crew, engineers, flight dispatchers, check-in and boarding teams, planners, IT, marketing, communications, finance, and logistics specialists, to name just a few, come together and muck in to create a sensory garden complete with bug hotel, a climbing wall, rabbit hutch, fish pond, picnic tables, and transformation of the main yard into a five-a-side basketball court, games area, putting green, vegetable garden, and outdoor classroom.
The work was carried out for the senior pupils in the post primary section of Holy Family School for the Deaf, Cabra, which is dedicated to creating a unique and dynamic environment devoted to the education and support of deaf and hard of hearing students.
Eimear O’Rourke, Principle, said: “The school’s staff, pupils and parents are so very grateful to each and every Aer Lingus staff member for giving up one of their holiday days to come here today to volunteer and transform the school and enhance the learning environment of our pupils. Aer Lingus’s donation of their time, hard labour and materials to build the outdoor areas is invaluable, and we would never have been able to afford the project without them.”
Ruth Ranson, Director of Communications, Aer Lingus said: “Aer Lingus is very committed to giving back to its local community and each year our staff shows a great commitment to Difference Day. We have 140 here today and we are all really proud of the team’s hard work transforming the school grounds. I hope the pupils of Holy Family School are pleased with their new sensory garden and play areas and that they get many years of enjoyment and inspiration from them.”
The Difference Day initiative was supported by the Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation, which is the Aer Lingus corporate social responsibility programme. The Aer Lingus TakeOff Foundation encompasses the broad spectrum of charity and corporate social responsibility initiatives that Aer Lingus engages in and includes continued work with chosen charity partners UNICEF Ireland and Special Olympics Ireland, fundraising activities undertaken by Aer Lingus staff and volunteers, SME support initiatives, and support of culture and the arts.
