Community Partnerships
St Mary’s offers its facilities and services to numerous non-profit organisations and groups in the local community on the basis of mutual benefit.
The organisations and groups range from large bodies such as the GAA to small community-based study groups. They are all our partners and we share the objective of improving the lives of people in our locality.
St Mary’s campus is a major asset to the local community because it offers access to top class facilities and services in a welcoming and friendly manner.
Our students often avail of opportunities to work alongside community groups and organisations in delivering events.
We consider the totality of our community partnerships to be a contribution to peace building in a society that is still recovering from conflict.
Each September, St Mary’s hosts the awarding of the Aisling Bursaries. The bursaries began in 2000 and are a joint initiative of the West Belfast Partnership Board and the Irish News.
Bursary sponsors each contribute a thousand pounds to be distributed to local students (both school pupils and those on other educational pathways), to assist them in pursuit of their chosen career.
This is an exemplar of cooperation between community, business and education at its very best.
