Newcastle tech firm Opencast says it has now donated more than £100,000 to charities as part of its "10 good things" initiative.
The project - designed to coincide with Opencast's tenth anniversary - includes a team vote on the ten charities that will benefit from donations this year.
Previous Opencast donations made in 2020 and 2021 have supported 17 charities located in the North East. The firm's fundraising this year has included five-a-side football, sponsored walks, individual fundraising efforts, volunteering and payroll giving.
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Opencast’s head of learning and culture Sheena Widdowfield – who also leads the company’s charity working group – said: “I am proud that in this our tenth year that our people have decided to focus so strongly on supporting charity.
“One of the company’s core values is ‘making a difference’. That means that as a business we want to make a positive impact on society, whether it is through skills development, diversity and inclusion, accessibility – or charity giving. Our people’s strong desire to support charities in our tenth year – including by giving up their time – reflects all of our commitment to making a real difference.”
Pupils from Dame Allan’s Junior School were given a behind the scenes tour of a live construction site thanks to contractor Tolent.
Ten children saw the project, known as the North End Development, that will provide facilities for the senior school’s arts, sciences and modern languages departments with completed works providing 16 new classrooms, modern exhibitions spaces and laboratories through a two-storey extension to the school’s existing campus in Fenham.
The development will also create a new sixth form area within design and technology, and multiple offices. Externally, it will feature a living wall on the north side of the school and electric charging points for vehicles enhancing the project’s biodiversity and sustainability credentials.
Those pupils given a tour by site's project manager will be among the first to benefit from the scheme when they transfer to the senior school in September.
In addition to learning about the construction techniques being used and the importance of health and safety on site, the children also learnt about the variety of career opportunities available in the construction industry.
Tolent’s site manager, Glyn Pallister, said: “Now the steel structure is complete, it is a great time for the children to see the skeleton of the building and learn about how it is being constructed.
“We are currently working on roof steels and drainage, then over the coming weeks we will be getting the building envelope up and the project will look different again.”
Darlington's Red Button Marketing has celebrated its fifth anniversary with a string of new client wins and awards recognition.
The firm - set up by Margaret Bradshaw from her own home - has grown to employ four people with additional support from growth adviser Jordan Dargue and is based out of offices in central Darlington.
She said: “It is certainly something to celebrate when I look back and see how far we have come.
“I now have a fantastic team around me who help us to develop our training programme to a wider market and continue to support the expansion and scaling up of our tech solution, My Marketing Button.
“I am very proud of all we have achieved and in particular the accreditations for our training which means so much and showcases our solution as a solid and sustainable option.
“Marketing is a fantastic business process made up of so many elements, we are just eager to show businesses a new and exciting way of planning so they get results.”
Newcastle-based dating app Safer Date has been shortlisted as part of a brand new national awards programme.
The StartUp Awards National Series has been launched to recognise start-ups across the UK - including the 400,000 launched since the start of the pandemic.
From more than 2,500 applications were received and Safer Date - which is an app that requires ID checks for every sign-up, eradicating anonymity and fake profiles - was among the shortlisted companies.
Elaine Parker, CEO of Safer Date said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be announced as a finalist in these StartUp Awards. Safer Date is a prime example of how tech can be used for good and it was set up to protect people from online predators. It is amazing to be recognised for the hard work we’re doing, and to be a finalist considering the stiff competition…..it’s really exciting.”
