Hannah receives Gaisce Gold award
HANNAH Johnston from Bray was at Dublin Castle last week to receive the Gaisce Gold Award from President Michael D Higgins.
Hannah was one of 55 young people from across Ireland who received their gold award on the day.
Gaisce – The President’s Award is a direct challenge from President Higgins to young people aged 15-25 to dream big and realise their potential; to push their boundaries and develop skills which will stand to them throughout their lives.
This year’s gold awardees have successfully completed five challenge areas for 52 weeks or more: volunteering with a charity or community group, developing an existing skill or learning something new, becoming more active through sport or exercise, taking part in a four-day adventure journey discovering the great outdoors as part of a team, and broadening their horizons on a five day residential stay away from home. All awardees previously received the Gaisce Bronze and Silver awards.
Hannah started gymnastics at the age of four and continued to improve her practice during her gold award journey, training for three hours per day, three days a week. Using her own experience in gymnastics for her community work, Hannah coached children with the Sugarloaf Gymnastics club.
She also volunteered with the Dublin Diocese and travelled with and supported a group of elderly and ill participants on their Lourdes pilgrimage for her residential project.
For her personal skill, Hannah learned how to knit and created 25 hats for the Innocent ‘Big Knit’ campaign supporting Age Action. Hannah’s adventure journey took her along 110km of the Camino way in Spain from Sarria to Santiago over five days.
Between them, the awardees dedicated more than 12,000 hours to receiving their awards. Since its inception in 1985 an estimated 150,000 young Irish people have completed a Gaisce Award, including former Rose of Tralee Maria Walsh and Irish rugby international Robbie Henshaw.
During the ceremony, President Higgins said it gave him great pleasure ‘ to recognise the dedication, perseverance and generosity’ of the Gaisce gold recipients.
‘ Today marks the conclusion of a journey – a journey in which you tested yourselves, through your thoughts and actions, first discovering and then surpassing your own limits. It was a journey in which you demonstrated not only a personal determination, but also a commitment to the service of your communities and of your fellow citizens. Today is a day on which you, your families and friends, your teachers and mentors, and all those who helped you on your path to the Gold award, can justly feel very proud of your accomplishment,’ said President Higgins.