Like every national school in Ireland, Carlow Educate Together NS is funded by the Department of Education and Science. Like every other national school in Ireland, this funding does not actually cover the costs of heating and powering the school. Many schools in Ireland host events, etc. to raise funds to buy essential equipment.
To get involved in fundraising in our school, please make yourself known to Simon or any member of the Board of Management. We’re always looking for bright ideas and almost all of our fundraisers have been organised by parents.
In the past, we have held some very successful events, for example, we turned the school into a “Winter Wonderland”, we had an energetic 10K walk and we have lots of other smaller events.
Voluntary Contribution
To help pay for the heating and lighting in the school, we ask parents to voluntarily donate a small sum of money each week. Our monthly heating costs almost €400 and our electricity costs about €450. On top of that we must pay for phone rental, broadband, bin service, etc. The Department grant covers about 60% of this cost. By donating €1 per day in school (€5 per week), you could raise almost €200 for the school each year.
After discussions with parents, it was agreed that the school would send out an envelope each week marked “Voluntary Contribution”. We suggest a donation of €5 per week but any amount is gratefully received. Each Friday, you can hand the envelope to your child’s teacher or the school secretary and it will be lodged anonymously. Nobody in the school will feel pressurised to donate to the school so your child will not be asked for their envelope. Hence, you might need to remind your child to give their envelope to their teacher (especially if they are shy!)
If you donate more than €250 to the school, there are tax benefits for the school. Check out this web page for more information: http://www.kpmg.ie/services/pcs/overview/tax_donations.html