Member Article

Building support for Children in most need

A North East children’s charity will continue to build better links with the youngsters it supports thanks to a donation from one of the region’s top housebuilders.

The £8,057 proceeds from the Linden Homes Charity Ball have been donated to Children North East for its work with children most in need across the region.

Carol Taylor, Senior Fundraiser with Children North East, said: “This generous donation is very much appreciated and every penny will be spent helping children in the region.

“Our services provide a real lifeline for many children who face issues in their lives which can damage confidence, undermine self esteem and ultimately prevent them from achieving their true potential. So this will help us to continue to provide this vital support.”

Handing over the money, Kate Brooks, Linden Homes’ Head of Sales, said: “Now that we are becoming more established in the region, with more developments being launched, we want to support the communities in which we work and were very impressed by the achievements of Children North East.

“Being able to make a real difference to the lives of children facing difficult challenges seemed the perfect opportunity and we were delighted that our suppliers and partners were so generous in their backing for our Fire and Ice ball.”

Staged at Newcastle’s Discovery Museum and attended by over 200 guests, the event was hosted by BBC Radio Newcastle’s breakfast show presenter Alfie Joey. Following its success Linden Homes is planning a repeat fundraiser this year.

One in four children and young people – 132,000 - in the region live below the official poverty line and Children North East has been working to transform the lives of disadvantaged youngsters for over 120 years. The aim is to ensure that they get the same chances and breaks in life as their peers.

Last year 4,093 children and young people used the services, 44% more than the previous year. Of these, 11% were from minority ethnic groups and 4.5% had some form of disability.

Services include support for families who are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless, intensive family work to prevent children and young people from being taken into care, help for families with children who find themselves struggling with issues like depression, debt, isolation etc. and work with primary school children who are under achieving. To find out more, visit www.children-ne.org,uk

Linden Homes’ is working to improve the quality and choice of homes in the region and is currently building at The Sycamores in Birtley and Trilogy I on Saltwell Road. Both are part of the £350 million Gateshead Regeneration Initiative which will eventually deliver 2,400 homes across 19 sites.

It has recently secured planning permission for a development at the site of the former St. George’s Hospital in Morpeth and the redevelopment of its former office base in Ponteland.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .