Member Article

Spreading Christmas cheer in Scotswood

The partnership laying the foundations for new homes in Scotswood has been working hard to help Santa make this Christmas magical for local children.

The New Tyne West Development Company (NTWDC) – building at The Rise – encouraged partners, associates and their employees to join members of the community in donating towards gifts for a festive event at the Scotswood Centre.

NTWDC raised just over £1,000 to buy presents for families who might otherwise have gone without this Christmas. Over 80 children received gifts from Santa at the special event.

Leigh Davison, Chair of Trustees for the centre said: “Christmas is a time that should bring people together and each December, we look to share some special festive cheer with the whole community. This year, we held a Christmas market, reflecting the support we receive from other organisations in the area, alongside our traditional visit from Santa.

“He had requested help from the community to ensure he could get gifts to every child, so we were very grateful to NTWDC for the generous support. It was a fantastic day and the children were delighted with their presents.”

Scotswood Centre has served the local area for over 20 years, supporting people into work and training, providing education for those needing additional help and working with the community to provide high quality activities for children and young people.

When NTWDC Development Director, Lee McGray, first heard about the Christmas event he was immediately keen to be involved.

He said: “After hearing about the fund, we wanted to do everything we could to support our local community and children and everyone we asked for donations felt the same way. We are all happy to dig deep and support an initiative that has put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces and I would like to thank everyone for their generosity.”

NTWDC – a partnership comprising Newcastle City Council and developers Barratt Homes and Keepmoat – is planning to build 1,800 new homes at The Rise, over the next 15 years.

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