Faces of Citywise - One of our young members, Lily Rose!

Week three of ‘Faces of Citywise’ takes on a completely different perspective. This week we spoke with Lily Rose, who is one of our young members. She took some time out of her busy day to tell us about some of her experiences in Citywise and why she comes here.

“My name is Lily Rose and I am in fourth class. When I’m not in school or Citywise I am playing Gaelic football and camogie for St Marks.” Lily Rose spends so much time here that she’s part of the furniture. She has been quoted in some of her recent groups as “having too much in Citywise!”. We think you can never have too much fun and hope she always feels this way.

“I came to Citywise to take part in one of their brilliant summer camps. I had lots of fun and I met a lot of new friends. This is all because of Citywise! It’s amazing! After the camps, I couldn’t wait to join an afterschool group so I could come to Citywise every week!” This is often something that younger siblings of members look forward to and we love to see the excitement on their faces when they turn eight and can finally start.

“The first group I joined was Grenoble & Hamburg, but I use to call it Granola and Hamburger. I’m still going even now!” With Level 5 restrictions, Grenoble & Hamburg moved online, but this didn’t stop the weekly fun! “I joined a Zoom call every Thursday with Ellie (my big sister), Emily, Ciaran, Sibel and Amy, the leaders of my group. We do lots of fun things including coding and sports. Citywise even makes getting lashed on during a hike to the Hellfire Club fun!!! In Citywise it’s always about having fun. I love it here!!”

Lily Rose has been extremely excited to come to Citywise since she could walk. She would often be seen running in behind her big sister Ellie, begging to join a club. Ellie has been involved in Citywise since she was eight years old, just like Lily Rose, and is now in her fifth year of our leadership programme.

“I come to Citywise twice a week for two different clubs, Junior Fast Track and Grenoble & Hamburg. I enjoy being here every week because we always learn new things! The important part is that we have fun doing it, but even more important is that I get to see all my friends and make lots of new ones too.”

“Citywise is different from other places because it’s always about having fun and learning new things. I like meeting new people and everyone is so lovely! I come back every week because not only would Lauren miss me, but because it gives me something enjoyable to do after school and a chance to learn new things. Without Citywise, I would only be at home doing some Tik Tok dances! My favorite activity is Just Dance because it’s always great fun watching Ciaran and Liam dancing while singing (or screaming) some Frozen lyrics!”

“I have so many favourite things about Citywise! There’s just too many to list! If I had to pick one though I would have to say my favorite is that I get the chance to play games with my friends in Grenoble & Hamburg and Junior Fast Track. I love seeing Lauren and all the leaders in Citywise, they always make me smile or laugh no matter what mood they are in. Liam’s singing makes me laugh the most!”