About the SOS Challenge

The SOS Challenge: Screen Our Schools is an interactive educational programme that teaches secondary school students about Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS), heart health, and the importance of cardiac screening for young people. This app brings the entire student journey into one place: students work through three learning modules — Explorer, Advocate, and Ambassador — testing their knowledge with quizzes, earning certificates as they pass, and then putting what they have learned into practice by running their own awareness and fundraising campaigns at school.

As teams progress, they upload evidence of their campaign work to a shared project portfolio and can earn Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards — Learn & Understand, Share & Measure, and Lead & Impact. Teachers can follow their school's progress on a live leaderboard, and the Dillon Quirke Foundation team can support schools every step of the way.

The programme is built for secondary school students and their teachers across Ireland. It is developed and run by The Dillon Quirke Foundation, a charity set up in memory of Dillon Quirke, the Tipperary hurler who died suddenly from SADS in August 2022. The Foundation's mission is to raise awareness of SADS and reduce the number of young people dying from it through a national cardiac screening programme — screening thousands of young hearts nationwide.