Four Irish schools hope to cover Irish lapels with St Patrick's Day badges in aid of GOAL and Aidlink, writes Louise Holden.

This week Rockwell College in Cashel, Co Tipperary, St Oliver's Community College in Drogheda, Co Louth, and Coláiste Íosagáin and Blackrock College in Dublin have packed and distributed no less than 150,000 St Patrick's Day badges to 6,000 newsagents around the country. This is the 14th year of the Saint Patrick's Day schools' fundraiser and last year the effort garnered €180,000 for Irish aid agencies GOAL and Aidlink. What started as a small Transition Year mini- company venture has grown into a significant earner for a number of vital projects in the developing world.

"Most of the money raised through the St Patrick's Day Badge project goes to projects to help street children in Calcutta, Angola, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Mozambique," explains Lisa O'Shea of GOAL. "We feel it is appropriate that money raised by young people should benefit other young people. It also helps the students involved to relate to the projects that they are supporting. They are deeply interested in where the money goes - it puts a smile on my face to witness their commitment."

This project is about much more than money, however. As well as learning about issues in the developing world, students are getting a healthy dose of enterprise education as they organise, manage and market a major national campaign. More than 300 students are involved in spreading the news of the campaign to schools, businesses and the public over the two weeks leading up to St Patrick's Day.

"This is a huge logistical challenge for the students involved," says Brian Herlihy, Transition Year co-ordinator at Blackrock College. "From the outset, the company is arranged along the lines of a real enterprise. The students recruit a finance department, sales team, marketing team and schools liaison team. They must visit as many schools and businesses as they can to network and sell the idea of the badges and the causes they support. They are writing business letters, dealing with suppliers and designers, holding meetings - all the important elements of running a business."

In order to keep students in tune with the development programmes they are supporting, there are annual visits to the countries where GOAL and Aidlink do their work. Last year, 10 students visited a school in Calcutta where 300 children are now receiving an education. Before the school was built, these children were left alone all day while their parents worked. They were prey to abusers, traffickers and the sex industry; now they are learning to read and write in a safe and supportive environment.

Most of the work on the St Patrick's Day Badge project takes place outside school hours, so students are required to make a personal commitment to the project. Because of the education programme that is run in tandem with the mini-company, many students take the project to their hearts.

Maighréad Mhic Dhomhnaill, Transition Year co-ordinator at Coláiste Íosagáin in Stillorgan, Dublin, has also incorporated the badge fundraiser into the Transition Year programme, but in a different way. The students of Coláiste Íosagáin sell the badges on the street as part of a nine-week development education module, during which they learn about the challenges faced by families in the developing world, from HIV/Aids and infant mortality to lack of clean water and malnutrition.

"It is so important to bring development education into the classroom," says Mhic Dhomhnaill, who is a director of Aidlink. "Transition Year provides a fantastic opportunity for students to broaden their global view and to gain an understanding of the role aid agencies play across the world."

As part of the module an Aidlink worker is joined by a volunteer and a supporter to show students the different ways that individuals can work for change.

"Last year we brought in a stockbroker who does not work with Aidlink at all but who keeps herself educated on development issues and supports the agency financially," says Mhic Dhomhnaill. "It demonstrates to students that there are many ways to make a difference."

By the time the students of Coláiste Íosagáin hit the streets, they are fully charged with passion for their cause and practical information for supporters.

The St Patrick's Day badges have been on sale in newsagents and other businesses since Monday. Rockwell, Coláiste Íosagáin and St Oliver's students will be on the street selling the badges on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Badges are not available from GOAL or Aidlink, but information on the development projects can be found at www.aidlink.ie or www.goal.ie

Any school interested in getting involved in next year's St Patrick's Day schools fundraiser should contact Brian Herlihy at Blackrock College, Dublin.