Our founder, Sir Richard Wallace, is widely remembered in history as a man who used his wealth and position to help those less fortunate than himself. He is famous for donating the Wallace fountains to provide clean drinking water, as well as donating his own land to the people of Lisburn, notably Wallace Park.
This philanthropic spirit remains alive and well in Wallace today. We actively seek not just to help others, but to instil the values of ‘giving back’ and ‘paying it forward’ in our students. Throughout the school year we arrange a number of charitable events. We have student led organisations within the school that actively run and organise regular fundraisers to raise much needed money for charities, as well as providing wellness events for fellow students.
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Outlined below are some of the amazing events, projects and organisations that operate in Wallace.
Cancer Fund for Children Read On Event
Organised by the English Department, this event involved students in Years 8-10 raising funds by engaging in a full week of concerted reading. This has had a great impact on Reading for Pleasure and students literacy. It also raised over £6350 for Cancer Fund for Children. Cancer Fund for Children is one of our legacy charities in school and we have nearly surpassed the impressive £190,000 mark of total funds raised for this charity by Wallace.
Commenting on their experience, Year 10 student Alanna, stated:
“Read on is a fantastic week in English classes as we are able to relax and enjoy Reading for Pleasure (RFP). I loved RFP classes in Years 8 and 9 and miss them this year, so it was amazing to have a full week in class to choose something to read for enjoyment, not simply to analyse and write about.”
Year 10 students Susie and Jessica added:
“We also enjoyed learning about the work of the Cancer Fund for Children and we are very proud of WHS’s long standing support of this wonderful charity.”
“Cancer affects so many lives and to know that the charity offers such invaluable support to families in Northern Ireland is reassuring.”
Summing up the students experience, Tara commented:
“We were delighted to present a cheque for £6355 to Rebecca Oates (Cancer Fund for Children) and we would like to express our thanks on behalf of the young people of Northern Ireland to Rebecca and all her amazing colleagues.”
Head of the English Department, Mrs Weir reflected:
“I’d like to thank the English Department for all their efforts in promoting the work of the charity and enthusing our students to support its work. It is gratifying to see such a love of reading amongst our pupils, as well as a continued focus on helping others – the legacy of our founder, Sir Richard Wallace, lives on in the work of our entire school community. I look forward to our continued relationship with Cancer Fund for Children and hope that we can break through our £200,000 milestone target soon!”
The Rotary Interact Club
Led by Mrs Dumigan and Mrs Weir, this club is run and organised by Year 13 students. They have been very active this year by raising funds for their chosen charities. They have ran sweet sales, face painting, delivered candy canes at Christmas and have more events in the pipeline! This organisation allows our young people to fully take charge and become leaders, whilst also developing important transversal skills, such as teamwork and communication.
Commenting on the work of our young leaders, Mrs Dumigan stated:
“The Rotary motto of ‘Service above Self’ lies at heart of everything we do. Raising money and awareness of our chosen charities is central to what we do, but so is the sense of collegiality we get in return. Our Rotarians are the personification of the altruism of our school’s founder Sir Richard Wallace. We couldn’t be prouder!”
Further Charitable Events
In PE, Mr McIlmurray has been instrumental in organising a series of fund raisers for NIPANC. These events have required staff and students to test their sporting knowledge to build their very own fantasy teams for the recent Rugby World Cup and Six Nations competitions. Another of our legacy charities, NIPANC do amazing work with their staff of volunteers. Our Girls’ Hockey teams also held a sweet and bake sale, with a percentage of profits going towards NIPANC. We were delighted to be recently awarded a Certificate of Recognition for our work with this charity, including last summers cycling challenge in memory of our colleague Paddy Harrower. Please see the link below for more details:
On our annual House Quiz Day, students dressed up in a sea of red, green and yellow to raise funds for Children in Need. Our Senior Prefects also held their very own Children in Need House competition to help promote this worthy cause.
At Christmas we were delighted to be able to send £1700 to both the Simon Community NI and Salvation Army to help with their noble work with the homeless and supporting families in need. This money was raised by the very generous donations from the wider Wallace community during our annual Christmas Jumper Day. During the festive period Mrs Hawthorne also organised the annual Women’s Aid Hamper collection, with support from Year 12 students.
Senior Teacher, Mr Armstrong, concluded:
“There are many more events being organised for the rest of the academic year. We are looking forward to Red Nose Day which will involve a special event facilitated by our Wellness Committee, led by Mrs Davison. We once again would like to thank our students, staff and parents for their generosity and unwavering support in our charitable endeavours.”
Last modified: March 5, 2024
