CEO of Suas Educational Development John Logue talks us through Suas’s relaunch into the dual brand Suas and Stand. Suas is our branch focused on children’s literacy, with Stand focusing on engaging young people and students in volunteering, internships, innovation, courses and our new website, Stand News.
Michael defied the odds. At age 8, he was considered a poor reader and struggled in class. We realised
he was finding it hard to concentrate on the books available in school. Knowing he loved comics,
Michael’s reading mentor suggested they try the first few pages of ‘Percy Jackson, The Lightening Thief’. The following week, Michael had finished all 377 pages – something that would continue every week.
When Lucy and Emma felt compelled to take action for refugee rights, we were there to help. To address the isolation and exclusion faced by those living in Direct Provision centres in Dublin, they developed their idea – Connect More Dublin. The project raises awareness of the Direct Provision system. Their hope for the future of Connect More Dublin is to introduce a buddy system that will encourage greater integration between asylum seekers and others in Dublin.
These stories could come from two very distinct organisations – one supporting children’s literacy, the
other enabling changemakers to take action. Yet, both represent stories of progress from one
organisation – Suas Educational Development. This dual focus is a core part of what makes Suas a
unique organisation on the NGO landscape in Ireland. Yet, it poses a challenge when trying to tell our
story to those unfamiliar with our work.
The health and well-being of any organisation is rooted in a collective understanding of why it exists,
who it serves and how it helps them. This is particularly true in the NGO sector. Clarity about these
fundamental distinctions provide the foundation for recruiting volunteers, engaging donors and
meaningful strategic planning. Most importantly, clarity of mission enables key stakeholders and
advocates to tell the organisation’s story to the world.
Today, I want to begin the process of re-telling our story. From today, our work on children’s literacy
and global citizenship will take place under two distinct brands – Suas and STAND. We think these
changes will bring much more clarity to our work and enable us to increase our impact over the months
and years ahead.
These changes also allow us to make a really exciting leap forward in our work on global citizenship. Over the past few months, we’ve been working hard to develop a new platform for our global citizenship work. Today, I want to give you a sneak preview of this new platform – STAND.
STAND celebrates the power of ordinary people to change the world. Here, you can share your ideas
about standing up for justice and equality, learn more about global issues, and find out what you – as an
individual and by coming together – can do to take positive action. In the coming weeks, we’ll also be
making some exciting announcements about changes to Suas so be sure to look out for another exciting
update shortly.
