Former media agency boss Tim Griffiths has been named as chair of Young Social Innovators (YSI) in place of Gerry Fitzpatrick, who steps down after six years in the role. The appointment comes as the youth charity marks 25 years and sets a target of backing half a million young changemakers. YSI runs in schools and Youthreach centres around the country.
YSI was founded in Ireland in 2001 by Sr Stanislaus Kennedy and Rachel Collier.
Teams work together in their school or youth centre, and try turning an idea into something that actually happens. The projects are rarely abstract. A team called Grass Sheets at Tullamore College in Co Offaly turned discarded grass clippings into an alternative to paper and used the material to make everything from paper bags to a wearable jacket.
Education
Students at Rosses Community School in Dungloe, Co Donegal, as Tick Tack Go put together tick removal kits and ran an education campaign on Lyme disease in an area where the risk is high. Saor, Free the Flow, from Portmarnock Community School in Dublin, took on period poverty with reusable sanitary pads, training and advocacy work from Ireland to Lesotho.
Griffiths spent over 25 years in media agencies before moving into the non-profit sector. He co-founded and ran Initiative Media Dublin, OMD Ireland and Omnicom Media Group Ireland, and was CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland from 2021 to 2025. He completed the strategic perspectives in a non-profit management programme at Harvard Business School.
