By Kate Stephens
This year the University of Limerick will be hosting the Board of Irish College Societies (BICS) National Forum, and will be held on the 19th and 20th of January. BICS is a national organisation dedicated to providing a national forum for societies in universities, colleges and higher education institutions in Ireland. Their main objectives are to provide support for college societies and promote college society interests.
BICS topic this year is “Empowering the Student Society Volunteer” and we are delighted to have three important guest speakers to discuss this topic. On Thursday, Richard Lynch will be discussing PR and dealing with the media. Richard is a well-known presenter, actor, and producer and is currently working with I Love Limerick. He graduated from a respected acting program in William Esper Conservatory NY and has worked with the likes of Cosmopolitan Magazine and Central Talent Booking in New York. Richard has been producing large-scale events such as Limerick Pride for over a decade and writes a weekly column in the Limerick Chronicle.
We will also be joined by Claire Concannon on Friday morning. Claire is the Corporate Fundraising Manager for Concern Worldwide. Claire has over five years of experience in fundraising and has completed the Fundraising Ireland Diploma. She has worked with The Alzheimer Society of Ireland and Jigsaw and is currently working for Concern Worldwide. She is visiting UL to launch Concern World Champions Campaign in order to show the importance of volunteering and fundraising.
The final guest speaker is Pat Divilly. Pat is an international bestselling author and fitness coach. He is an expert in fitness and nutrition and appears regularly in magazines, newspapers, and television. He fund-raised over €250,000 for local charities and was named one of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneurs in 2014. Pat will be discussing time management and positive mindset for the busy society volunteer.
This forum is to remind the student volunteers of the importance and relevance of volunteering. There will also be several events taking place such as The Student Volunteer Panel Discussion, BICS Networking Rep Session, BICS Portfolio Workshop. This will be a fantastic event and you can view the full timetable and register for the event by contacting me at kate.stephens@ul.ie
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James Roulston Mooney 
Joe Drennan 
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