Raising and Giving win national social enterprise competition

Congratulations to the Raising and Giving (RAG) Society who have won the inaugural Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Ireland competition.

Competing against teams from NUI Galway, Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, the RAG team won for their social enterprise outreach projects designed to equip whole communities with skills and tools to transform themselves. RAG projects include:

• Books4 Literacy – am ambitious wholesale second-hand book service, employing people with literacy problems
• App 4 Change – supports and trains young people alienated from the formal education system to develop smartphone apps
• Bus Banter – targets loneliness and isolation through encouraging conversation on the Dublin Bus network
• Operation Paint Ballymun – through the creative arts, seeks to inspire and empower early school leavers to remain in the education system

The RAG team comprises Daithí de Buitléir, Ronan O Dálaigh, Sallyanne Downes, Evelyn Boyle, Hannah Dobson and Paul Gillick who will now represent Ireland at the prestigious SIFE 2012 World Cup in Washington in the autumn where they will have the opportunity to meet US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.

Founded in the US in 1975, SIFE is an international, not-for-profit organisation which encourages university students to make a positive difference to their communities, while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders of the future.

The SIFE Ireland victory for Raising and Giving comes just a week after winning an investment of €50 000 from the Arthur Guinness Fund for social entrepreneurs.