Have you seen him……?
One of our amazing volunteers, Kevin, is after setting off around the entire country of Ireland to 
fundraise for HOPE in a very unique way…. Kevin is going to kick a point in every one of Irelands club and county GAA grounds – all 1,616 of them. Join him on his fundraiser “Kick for Kolkata“
Kevin began this mammoth task in September and has already completed his journey through his native Tipperary as well as Kilkenny, Carlow, Roscommon and Clare among others. To see where Kevin is travelling to next you can follow his Facebook page and Twitter page.
Kevin’s fundraising aims to support our education programme in Kolkata and ensure that vulnerable and underprivileged street and slum children will receive an education and the opportunity of creating a better future for themselves, their families and their communities. To donate to Kevins fundraising attempt you can donate ONLINE or by texting  Kick4Hope to 50300 to make a €4 donation to HOPE. 100% of your donation goes to The Hope Foundation across most network operators. Some operators may apply VAT in which case a minimum of €3.25 will go to The Hope Foundation.
This is Kevin’s story….
“My name is Kevin O’Riordan and I am a primary school teacher from  Templemore, Tipperary.
Last year I volunteered with the HOPE Foundation  in the partnership known as the Froebel/HOPE partnership in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) India, where I taught the street children of Kolkata and provided workshops for their local teachers. Suffice to say my PE Curriculum involved hurleys, sliothars and gaelic footballs aplenty.
Since 2009, Frobel College of Education in Dublin has worked in partnership with the Hope Foundation in Kolkata. Every year 25-30 eager students with their lecturers travel to India’s ‘City of Joy’ to engage in HOPE’s education programmes. With an immense amount of knowledge, skills and resources, these students embark on what can only be described as a life-changing experience.
As a Froebel teacher I spent one month in HOPE’s crèches and coaching centres, in which they organise workshops for teachers and directly teach the children. The Froebellian Method of Teaching provides additional English and Math support to the teachers and explores new teaching methods such as role play, active learning, use of play, phonics and art.
The workshops conducted by the Froebel students are now concentrating on practical rather than theory-based learning, which has seen huge benefits throughout the HOPE centres. It cannot be understated that the HOPE-Froebel Partnership is a dual exchange of ideas, resources and learning, providing the Irish students with a true insight into a different culture, way of life and teaching methods.
This year, I am continuing the HOPE Foundation’s fundraising efforts with a truly ambitious plan. I want to kick a point in every GAA club pitch and county grounds in Ireland – all 1616 of them – in a project entitled “Kick For Kolkata”.
The core values of the HOPE Foundation align perfectly with those of the GAA, particularly when it comes to their work in creating a sense of community, encouraging teamwork to overcome difficult problems, and promoting a culture of volunteering that sees an increasing number of Irish students travel to Kolkata every year.
All the money raised will be used by The Hope Foundation it will be used to massively improve the quality of life of the street children through education. I will personally be travelling to Kolkata again to present the amount to the projects and visit the education centres that will benefit from it.
I will be raising money at every step along the way.
As I visit each club I take pictures of each clubs facilities and upload them on the official fundraiser page www.facebook.com/kickforkolkata and on the twitter page where you can find all information by typing kickforkolkata in the search bar. To date I have covered Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wicklow and Clare, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan,Monaghan, Meath, Longford, Westmeath, and Roscommon ticked off and, I will be visiting Offaly this Saturday and Sunday of this week.
By the 20th of December I will have kicked a point in every club in 18 counties, that’s over 930clubs!!
 It would be great to get as many people to turn out at each club along the way as possible.Your support would be greatly appreciated in this matter. The timetable for the clubs in Roscommon will be updated in the next few days.
Donations can be made to the following link and we will be collecting on the day also. http://www.gofundme.com/mgx2b8pm
Feel free to share the youtube link far and wide on your facebook and twitter pages.
Is mise le meas,
Kevin O’Riordan”
