Community Service

The McGinley School of Irish Dance prides itself on its service to the surrounding communities. We enjoy being able to share our talents with others. In addition to performing at many community events, dancers from the school participate in community service projects in which they raise funds for charitable causes. Over the past years, dancers from the school have raised nearly $7000 for Cure International and over $10,000 for the American Literacy Corporation (ALC).

Through our fundraising efforts, we have been able to help children in foreign countries receive surgeries they could not afford. We have also been able to bring Literacy and Cultural assemblies to school districts in Mississippi, that would not be able to afford them otherwise. Beyond funding our trips to Mississippi, our dancers also have purchased enough notebooks, markers, crayons, and supplies to give to the 1400 students that we visited on our trip to the Mississippi Delta in 2010.

In 2012, dancers from the school designed their service project to help another Irish Dance School in need. The Hirten School of Irish Dance on Long Island, New York was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Our dancers co-produced, with the ALC, and performed in a Happy Noon Year’s Celebration Show at the Forum on New Year’s Eve Day and also completed nearly 55,000 jump 23′s in their annual Jump Off. Through their efforts the dancers raised $5,030 and donated it to the Hirten School of Irish Dance to help them rebuild.

In 2014, dancers raised money for another Irish Dance family in Ireland that lost their 10 year old son to cancer. Prior to his passing, Make a Wish Foundation had granted him his last wish, to travel to Euro-Disney with his family. Unfortunately, Liam succumbed to his disease before the scheduled trip. Through our dancers efforts, the family, along with his 4 young sibblings were still able to travel to Disney and celebrate Liam’s life.

In 2016, our dancers worked, yet again, to help another family in need. This year, our dancers raised money for the Flemming family. Scott Flemming battled ALS. Our dancers raised $4,000 to send to the Flemming family to help finish an extension on their house so that Scott could return home to his wife, Melissa, and 4-year-old son, Brody.

In 2010, Lena McGinley and the McGinley School of Irish Dance were the recipients of the “Wally Amos Award for Outstanding Community Service.”