A team fundraising effort by employees at Miller Homes North East saw them walk 6,350 miles to raise £6,350 for St Oswald’s Hospice in Gosforth.
The Miller Homes North East team raised the money by encouraging employees to take part in ‘Active April’, which saw every mile walked matched with a £1 donation by Miller Homes. Eight members of the Miller Homes North East team also took on the challenge of a 12-mile walk across Hadrian’s Wall, achieving a combined total of 96 miles.
The team’s efforts earned them top spot on the Miller Homes group leader board for Active April for the second year in a row, completing the most miles out of 10 regions.
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Patrick Arkle, regional managing director at Miller Homes North East, said: “As a business, it is very important to us that we not only support the communities in which we operate, but we also encourage physical and mental wellbeing within our business. By encouraging people to take part in the fundraising activities we were able to have fun, generate some friendly competition, as well as supporting our team to stay active outside of work. St Oswald’s is a very special and worthy cause, and we hope our donation will be of great use to the hospice.”
Miller Homes will be supporting St Oswald’s Hospice during 2022 with many more initiatives under way.
Greggs has teamed up with mobile phone provider Virgin Media O2 to give free mobile data to families in need.
Operating through the Greggs Hardship Fund, the new scheme will see free O2 SIM cards and voucher codes handed out to families who need them, through schools across the UK.
Those who are given the cards and voucher cards will get 15GB of mobile data each – which is more than three times the amount used in a month by the average mobile phone user in the UK, according to Ofcom.
Trial locations for the scheme include schools in the North East, as well as Scotland, the South East and the Midlands.
The Greggs Hardship Fund offers families a helping hand through the provision of supermarket and clothing vouchers, beds, white goods and other household items.
Tracy Lynch, Greggs Foundation manager, said: “At Greggs we understand many people struggle to make ends meet and when unexpected costs arise, many can suddenly find themselves in very difficult circumstances. With the Hardship Fund, we are able to offer a helping hand to people who need it most. By joining the National Databank we are now able to provide further essential support to those facing hardship.”
A North East holiday lettings firm has beaten its global rivals to win an award for its management services.
Host & Stay, based in Saltburn, won the prize for best leisure property management company at the recent Short Term Rentalz Shortyz awards – one of only two UK-based companies in the category.
The property management firm, which was set up by Dale Smith in 2018, has enjoyed rapid growth over the past two years, and now has more than 600 holiday properties on its books.
Mr Smith, who was also shortlisted in the Rising Star category, said: “For the submission we documented our growth, our processes and also shared our team video, which went down really well with the judging panel.
“The Shortyz are one of the top awards in the short-term rental sector so we are delighted to have come out on top this year, especially after being shortlisted in 2021.
“It’s a testament to the hard work that the entire Host & Stay team has put in across the last 24 months, and also to the other supporting brands within The SDDE Smith Group, that makes Host & Stay stand above the crowd.”
A grant funding programme which will help communities become greener through carbon reduction, environmental improvement and education has been launched by Esh Construction.
Working in partnership with County Durham Community Foundation (CDCF), an independent grant-making foundation, Esh has allocated a £50,000 fund for projects which are centred around green skills, climate resilience, improving green spaces and habitats.
Esh has pledged to support a minimum of 10 communities across Durham, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Sheffield, Barnsley, York, Wakefield and Hull. Eligible projects could include the installation of greener technology, training programmes to support service users to live more sustainably, and the development of a communal green space.
Darush Dodds, corporate affairs director at Esh Construction said: “The need for us all to reduce our carbon footprint, live more sustainability and look after our green spaces has never been more important. By launching the ’10 Greener Communities’ programme we hope to assist those in the areas we work to develop projects or initiatives which can have a positive impact on the environment. At Esh, we have always been passionate about leaving a legacy in our communities, and we’re excited to see the benefits that will be delivered through this £50,000 fund.”
The programme is now open for applications, with grant awards of £2,000 up to £5,000 being considered.
