Young Leaders Warm Winter Evening : 2.8.07

Send any photo as an ecard to your friends! 

• St. Patrick's Celebration 2007 >

On Thursday, February 8th, the Young Leaders escaped the winter chill with a spirited kick-off to the St. Patrick's Day Season at the Park Avenue Ireland House. The night began with a St. Patrick's Day Committee Meeting led by event co-chairs Damian DeSola and Sean Gaffey, who outlined the strategy for the Young Leaders to raise $200,000 at the St. Patricks Day Celebration on March 15th at the New York Athletic Club. The committee was then joined by other Young Leader members for an evening of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and favorite Irish tunes by Celtic Cross.

AIF President Kieran McLoughlin welcomed the Young Leaders and thanked them for the significant contributions they have made to Irish philanthropic causes over the past three years. Special Guest speaker Brendan Touhey, Executive Director of Peace Players, spoke about Peace Players, which uses the game of basketball to unite and educate Catholic and Protestant children in Northern Ireland. Damian DeSola and Sean Gaffey also addressed the Young Leaders and emphasized the impact this year's St. Patrick's' Day Celebration will have on projects in Ireland like Peace Players and Barretstown, the Irish branch of Paul Newman's Hole-In-The Wall Gang camps.

Playing for Peace
Playing for Peace was founded in 2001 on the premise that “children who play together can learn to live together.” Playing for Peace effectively blends together proven theories of social modeling, conflict resolution and public diplomacy to operate basketball and life-skills programs in historically divided regions that bring together thousands of children from different religious, racial, and cultural backgrounds. The programs attract children to participate in basketball and life-skills activities that enable them to learn leadership skills and how to live as friends and neighbors. A key component to Playing for Peace's effectiveness is that the programs target children aged 10-14. These are the children old enough to pick up the basics of the sport, but young enough wherein many prejudices have not yet been cemented. Through the power of sport and education and the strategic integration of public diplomacy, Playing for Peace is altering the pattern of preconceived prejudice and equipping children with the skills and education needed to address the serious social and health issues they face.

Barretstown
Barretstown is a specially-designed camp for children with serious illnesses - primarily cancer and serious blood diseases - from Ireland, Britain and throughout Europe, and their families. Barretstown provides a unique program of adventure, activities and fun – backed by the medical world - which helps children with serious illness regain their confidence and self-esteem. It has become internationally recognized as having a profound and positive impact on their lives.

"When I saw Barretstown Castle I knew this was where I wanted the first European [Hole in the Wall] camp to be. I imagined a kind of medieval bazaar where children from different countries could raise a little hell together."
Paul Newman, Founder  more >