North East business life: charity, community and award events in the region

ROAR Digital Marketing will make its Wembley debut at the weekend as part of a special partnership with FA Trophy finalists Gateshead FC.

The business is showing its support for The Heed by sponsoring the club’s first team training wear and benchwear for their maiden Trophy final against Halifax Town on May 21, meaning the business’ logo will adorn the unique kits. The digital marketing agency, which specialises in strategic SEO and PPC solutions will also become a club partner for the 2023/24 season.

Michael Knowles, the founder and managing director of ROAR Digital Marketing, said: “The team at ROAR is delighted to support Gateshead FC and the excellent opportunities the club provides to a wide range of people in the North East, including the men’s, women’s and academy teams. As a growing business with our roots very firmly in Tyneside, we are passionate about giving something back to our local communities and the sponsorship is a way of showing how immensely proud we are of the region in which we live and work.

Read more: Hundreds of firms to attend North East event to inspire ‘good business’

“Seeing ROAR Digital Marketing make an appearance at Wembley later this month will be a bit of a surreal experience, and I hope the rest of the North East will join us in roaring Gateshead to success in the FA Trophy final. Whatever the outcome, they have done the North East proud by getting so far and we hope the squad enjoys such a momentous occasion.”

He was joined by Gateshead player-manager and former Newcastle United defender Mike Williamson, and players Adam Campbell and Kenton Richardson at the Gateshead International Stadium to launch the partnership.

Northumberland based type foundry The Northern Block has scored a win in the world’s leading typography competition—TDC69, by the Type Directors Club, which saw entries from 77 countries and winners from 42.

TDC is the longest-running, most prestigious global typography and type design competition, celebrating how letterforms are used and drawn, recognising typographic excellence and new typeface designs in all global languages. The award means The Northern Block’s Fagun will be published in the highly respected annual of the Type Director’s Club and showcased in eight globally touring exhibitions, including the 69th Awards Exhibition in New York.

Fagun – a humanist sans-serif with calligraphic roots in 14 styles, ranging from Light to Black, with matching italics – was designed by Northumberland-based type designer Jonathan Hill and released by The Northern Block in 2022. The Northern Block produced a limited edition 44-page printed newspaper specimen designed by Donna Wearmouth, inspired by Charles Dickens’ novels and characters, with the font’s name an intentional misspelling of Fagin—the mastermind villain from Oliver Twist.

The operator of the Tyne Tunnels, TT2, has given heart charity Red Sky Foundation a £2,000 donation to help families with the costs of transport and parking whilst visiting their poorly children in hospital.

Red Sky Foundation was granted full charitable status in March 2020, having been set up by Sergio and Emma Petrucci after their daughter Luna underwent life-saving heart surgery at the Children’s Heart Unit at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, in 2015. The couple set up the Red Sky Foundation in honour of the team who saved their daughter’s life – naming the organisation after seeing a fiery red sky on the morning of Luna’s operation.

To date, over £900,000 has been raised – funding a variety of important services and equipment for the Children’s Heart Unit at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, Sunderland Royal Hospital and James Cook Hospital in Teesside. The charity has also provided over 400 lifesaving defibrillators for public places and works closely with schools and communities to ensure they can be used to urgently help treat people suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.

Mr Petrucci said: “We are really grateful to TT2 because donations like this help ensure parents who are going through very worrying and stressful times, do not have to worry about the financial burden of being able to be by their child’s bedside, and to boost the funds even further we’re going to match fund TT2’s donation to ensure our partnership means we can be there for parents when they need us most.”

TT2’s chief operating officer, Shaun Simmons, said: “When we heard we could play a part in supporting parents in this position, we were delighted to help.”

North East housing and support provider Tyne Housing has been recognised for its continued commitment to the health and wellbeing of its workforce.

The organisation has been awarded Continuing Excellence in the Better Health at Work Awards after four years of involvement with the programme, having successfully progressed from the bronze standard to silver and gold. The award recognises the efforts of employers in the North East and Cumbria in addressing health issues within the workplace. Project proposals were assessed by the Better Health at Work working group – which is made up of health advocate volunteers and champions from within the organisation – and two projects moved forward.

The first project was a cycling club, which continues to benefit staff and residents by providing access to bikes, safety equipment and training via a local cycling social enterprise. Tyne has also worked on the renovation of a disused roof space at its main housing office, creating a decked roof garden for staff to enjoy, with furniture created by visitors at Tyne’s wood workshop. Assessors from Better Health at Work commended Tyne for its clear commitment and acknowledgement from senior leaders that staff and organisational wellbeing are key to delivering good quality services and outcomes.

Louise Wilson, head of business development at Tyne Housing, said: “We’re delighted to receive the Continuing Excellence Award to recognise the hard work of all our health advocates within Tyne. As a housing and support provider, it’s important that we take care of our staff and support their health and wellbeing, so they can deliver the best possible service to our residents and people within the community.”

Sunderland based manufacturer of water boosting solutions Salamander Pumps has announced it will be sponsoring National League side Spennymoor Town FC. The firm will be championing Spennymoor Town FC’s ‘Moors in the Community’ programme, which aims to use the football club to bring the community closer.

As part of the sponsorship, Salamander Pumps has pledged to support Spennymoor’s youth club delivery sessions, which are being hosted in partnership with Spennymoor Youth & Community Association. This will give children in Spennymoor a safe space to enjoy the latest equipment in sport delivery and help provide enhanced options for youngsters to succeed in sport.

Recently, Salamander Pumps championed the British Heart Foundation, raising donations through completing charity challenges. The manufacturer also donated £5 to the charity with every sale from select retailers of a shower pump from its popular CT Force range.

Spennymoor Town FC community development manager, Luke Cowie, said: “This sponsorship will allow Moors in the Community to interact with neighbouring communities and further enhance the sessions being delivered in the surrounding area. The Salamander Pumps team have been fantastic and I can’t thank them enough for agreeing to sponsor us because it gives us the platform to grow further and make an even bigger impact on children’s lives in the local community.”

Claire Thompson, director of marketing at Salamander Pumps, said: “We are dedicated to support our communities here in the North East and championing grassroots sport is a great way to do that. Spennymoor Town had a fantastic season, narrowly missing out on a play-off spot. We’re looking forward to cheering them on next their next campaign while continuing to help the club connect with the surrounding communities.”

READ NEXT