Successful Thomas Street Ambassador Programme draws to a close
Photo Credit- Volunteer Ireland
The Thomas Street Ambassador Programme drew to a close on Saturday September 28th and early indications deem it to have been a huge success. The programme was part of a larger 90-day improvement plan for the area initiated by the Thomas Street Business Association (TSBA) and was run in conjunction with Volunteer Ireland, whose offices are also conveniently located on the same street.
After the necessary induction and training, volunteer ambassadors patrolled Thomas Street wearing purple bibs bearing the invitation “Ask me about Thomas Street”. Their job was to assist visitors by giving directions, answering questions and generally making sure tourists derived the most from their visit.
Bill Daly Photo Credit- Volunteer Ireland
Volunteer Bill Daly met two ladies from Ontario who were on their third visit to Dublin: “When I asked what the attraction for them was they replied that they loved the way people talked to each other, even thanked the bus driver when they got off, that sort of thing; it would never happen at home they said. Proof, if ever it were needed, that putting on a friendly face really helps”.
A wrap-up party was held in Arthur’s pub on Saturday evening, where Killian O’Higgins of TSBA thanked all those who had contributed their time and effort.
“Normally a major cost factor with this sort of operation would be labour”, he said, “fortunately this was not the case here, and in fact we could not have done it without the volunteers.” He went on to say that the results of the scheme would be evaluated with a view to repeating it next year, but initial feedback indicated that it would almost certainly go ahead again.
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