Playing music is good for the soul. Within seconds of sitting behind a set of drums for this photo yesterday, Catrina Culligan the Co-ordinator of Drogheda’s Boomerang Youth Club in Fair Street was making “music” and giggling like a little schoolgirl!
The reason for Catrina’s impromptu performance, in which she was joined by Lead Youthworker Teresa Kerley on bass and Music Support Worker Sean Thornton on keyboards, was that Boomerang has been awarded €65,000 by the RTÉ Toy Show Appeal which raised an amazing €6.6million in donations from the Toy Show audience last November.
Half of the money raised was shared between three key charities: Barnardos Ireland, Children’s Health Foundation Ireland, and Children’s Books Ireland.
The remainder of the money is being made available to children’s and young people’s charities following an open call for grants from youth organisations from all over Ireland.
Boomerang was one of the 55 projects chosen and they intend to use the money for a musical project called “Studio Sounds” the aim of which is to reduce inequality through creative engagement.
“Music has the ability to be the language of our emotions and it can assist young people in voicing their feelings, fears and concerns” Catrina told me with a flourish on the cymbals.
“This programme will use music to engage young people in a journey of self-discovery and development which will cover various elements of music development and also the core elements of youth work.”
“Boomerang offers a range of recreational and educational programme for young people to get involved in. Through our work we are aware of the impact music can have on many young people’s lives and we identified that there was a definite gap in our service in this area
“We have been lucky over the past number of years to secure funding for a range of music equipment and now have allocated a dedicated basement space to music development
“This grant will allow us to recruit the music expertise to work alongside our current youth team to make music and integral part of the service we provide.”
Catrina and her staff are hoping that the new funding will allow them to expand their use of music through all of their programmes giving participants an opportunity to be exposed to a range of music and genres and to engage in a creative activity supported by qualified and committed staff.
“Music gives young people a voice, can help release or control their emptions, explore ideas and help build confidence and self-esteem” Catrina said.
She is looking forward to club members showcasing their work through concerts and events and also using music as a medium to connect with likeminded young people and develop bonds with their peers.
That is if they can get prise the staff away from the musical instruments! Testing, one two, one two…
