Scoil na Croise Naofa Vex Robotics #CorktoKentucky

As you all know we were fundraising to send our Vex Robotics team to the World Finals in Kentucky in April. We were thrilled to have raised €26,400 through a combination of our GoFundMe page and private and corporate sponsorship. 

Unfortunately, as per my email to you last week, the event was cancelled &  will not be rescheduled in 2020, due to the measures taken worldwide in response to Covid-19. While this is obviously very disappointing news for our pupils, everyone’s health and safety is the priority at this time.   

We remain extremely proud of all 15 pupils who represented the school so well to date and their amazing achievement - winning 4 national prizes! We will continue to celebrate this achievement when we return to school after the current closure. 

Last Friday I emailed all of our GoFundMe donors to explain the above. I was completely overwhelmed by the kind messages I received in reply to that email, and especially to those of you who suggested their donations be kept for general school fundraising, for IT in the school, for future Vex Robotics teams or for the team to go on a local day trip as treat... your suggestions and thoughtfulness were just incredible. Your replies and this further kindness (on top of the kindness of your original donation) was so unexpected. I fully expected (and intend to still) to simply refund everybody.  So thank you for you kind messages. 

GoFundMe has contacted me and explained the process of issuing the refunds - that they will email you all to explain the change in our fundraising campaign (in our case the event being cancelled) and that as a result of the change you have the right to request a refund. They will explain the process of requesting your refund in the email, and I invite you to follow their instructions and directions to claim this.

We deeply appreciate your support of our campaign... but we also know in these uncertain times,and in these changing economic circumstances, this refund may be more valuable to you and your family than ever before. So please follow the instructions, as directed by GoFundMe. 

If however, you still feel you would like your donation to remain with the school, where it would be used as per the suggestions of some of your emails last week (for another fundraising project, to develop IT in the school, sponsor future  VEX Robotics teams or to treat the current team when we get back to school), then we are extremely  grateful. You need not take any action if this is the case - your donation will simply remain in place and will be transferred to the school in time. 

To confirm: if you wish to receive a refund, please follow the instructions that will be issued by GoFundMe by email. Please take these steps as soon as possible. If you do not act, the money will remain with the school. 

Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity and support throughout the campaign. We came very close to getting our pupils to Kentucky... but everyone’s safety and health is somuch more important at the moment. We are confident they have bright futures ahead. 

Look after yourself and your family in these uncertain times. Stay safe

Le meas agus buíochas,

Ciara Bowe
Principal