Since 2018, the Dublin Lions Club has supported the Holy Family School for the Deaf in Dublin Cabra. Discover how Lions in Dublin saw a need within the school and stepped in, connecting with students along the way.
Where there’s a need, there’s a Lion
In 2018, a teacher at the Holy Family School for the Deaf in Dublin Cabra heard about the Dublin Lions Club and wrote a letter to me asking for support. The school’s woodwork class students had some part in building a rocking horse. And they wanted to know—could we help raise money by holding a raffle for the rocking horse? So we visited the school and loved meeting the pupils.
Over discussions with the teachers, we realized that the real challenge the school was facing was access to modern technology. With support from Lions in Dublin and across Ireland, as well as the corporate sector and generous benefactors, we managed to equip the school with Chromebooks just before the arrival of COVID-19. Additional equipment included touchscreens, a 3D printer and a laser cutter.
Connecting with students
The bit that really got me was when a group of Lions were here visiting. We talked to a group of students and asked why they were at this school rather than a mainstream school. The answer that came back again and again was being bullied, not having friends and being isolated. The deaf school provided the beauty of being with people who were also deaf, something I'd never thought about before. Suddenly it made so much more sense to me. I just had no awareness of this. It was like opening a door for me to a whole community I knew nothing about, but I should know more about.
I found anytime I brought members of the Dublin Lions Club here with me, they fell in love with the school and became very passionate about it. We can't come out and do hands-on things. However, one of our members started a sign language class for the club. Learning sign language brings us on the journey to communicating and connecting even more, which was a great gesture.
It was like opening a door for me to a whole community I knew nothing about, but I should know more about.
A special thank you to Lions
It's a big gift to Lions that the teachers and students have gone to this trouble to develop a special Lions sign that is now used within deaf communities in Ireland. I thought it was a great sign of generosity on their part.
Interested in starting a similar project? View the Lions Service Toolkit to download the following resources:
- Club and Community Needs Assessment
- Guide to Developing Local Partnerships
- Fundraising Guide
Frank O’Donoghue is a past district governor of the Lions Clubs of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Lions Club.
