North East leisure firm The Apartment Group has become a corporate friend of visiting dogs charity, Wag & Company.
Group boss Duncan Fisher has become a volunteer after the firm's £5,000 donation, which will enable 12 volunteers to visit older people in the region. Mr Fisher, along with his Hungarian Vizla called Rudy, has already visited a care home in Alnwick, for Wag. He said: "I believe that what Wag is offering is an exceptional and very much under-valued service. I hope that by joining the team Wag’s reach will continue to spread."
Wag & Company was set up seven years ago to tackle loneliness and isolation among older and vulnerable dog lovers in the North East. Diane Morton, founder and CEO of Wag & Company, said: "We’re so grateful to The Apartment Group for providing such important financial support and especially, of course, Duncan and Rudy for their personal commitment.
"With help like theirs we can continue to meet the huge and growing demand for Wag friends across our region. Our regional army of volunteers make such a positive impact to older people often isolated, bereaved and vulnerable in our local communities. Regular visits and lots of cuddles with a special dog as well as a chat and a cuddle with a fellow dog lover make a genuine difference to people’s lives.
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"We never charge so that no-one misses out, which means we rely on support from individuals, companies and care organisations as part of our Friends of Wag supporters scheme to chip in to help us make this important difference all across the North East, long into the future."
Holiday parks operator Parkdean Resorts has introduced a number of emissions reducing measures to its sites across the UK.
In an effort to reach 25% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2025, the Newcastle-based firm and has switched from LPG to Calor Futuria Liquid Gas across a portion of its sites, introduced trials of solar panels in Dorset and set up electric vehicle charging points at eight of its parks.
Parkdean is also replacing a total of 25 diesel vans with electric vehicles as part of the trial. The vans, which are used by maintenance teams on park, are being trialled at Warmwell, Sandford and Trecco Bay Holiday Parks. The move is expected to save approximately 21.5 tonnes of carbon at the parks per year.
Jane Bates, director of Procurement and Sustainability, Parkdean Resorts, said: "Reducing our carbon emissions is one of our central goals at Parkdean Resorts, and we’re delighted with the progress we’ve made so far. We’ve introduced a number of initiatives across our parks that are clearly having a real impact, and we’ll continue to monitor our progress to ensure we meet our target of reducing our emissions by 25% by 2025. Our teams have worked really hard to implement these changes and we know we have a huge responsibility as a business to ensure we are putting sustainability first, so we’re striving to do all that we can to continue with this brilliant progress."
Procurement specialist NEPO has chosen mental health organisation Anxious Minds as its 2023 charity of the year.
NEPO will now support Anxious Minds - which has six centres in Wallsend and Blyth - through fundraising activities in 2023 including the Manchester Tough Mudder.
Carly Ivers, procurement coordinator at NEPO said: “NEPO is recognised as a national leader in delivering positive outcomes in local communities. Through social value approach we are committed to using our resources and expertise to ensure that every pound spent creates value for our local economy.
"NEPO understands the important role that independent charities, such as Anxious Minds, play in strengthening local communities and invaluable support they offer. We look forward to working closely together with Anxious Minds in helping to raise funds for its vital work.”
Edward Dean, CEO of Anxious Minds, said: "Thankfully, whilst speaking about mental health struggles is no longer as much of a taboo as it once was, we face an unprecedented challenge in that the number of people struggling is going up whilst funding is going down, in real terms. NHS waiting lists are months, if not years, long and we know that early intervention is key. It is thanks to the support from individuals, businesses and organisations, such as NEPO, that Anxious Minds is able to step in and provide drop-in centres, support lines and counselling sessions for those that would otherwise feel they have nowhere else to turn."
National training provider Learning Curve Group (LCG) has made its head office a clothing collection point for employability charity, Smart Works.
The Spennymoor offices will serve as a point where people can donate clothing that the charity will provide to women for whom it can boost their chances of employability. Smart Works' beneficiaries are referred from Job Centres, mental health charities, women’s refuges, homeless shelters, the prison service, care services and youth organisations.
The charity also provides a coaching service that includes interview preparation, with 72% of clients securing a job within a month.
Carly Sidebottom, director of Employability at LCG, said: "The incredible work of Smart Works entirely aligns with the employability provision of LCG. Learning Curve Group target disadvantaged areas and communities to ensure that people from lower socio-economic backgrounds are made aware of the opportunities they have. LCG host pop-up provisions in such deprived areas where they run short courses for unemployed adults, to enhance their skills and increase their chances of getting into work.
"LCG work closely with domestic abuse havens, rehabilitation centres, job centres, and community venues to ensure they are taking opportunities straight to those who may have experienced a difficult life, who are struggling to find employment, or who may not have had the chance to do so before.
Membership organisation Engineering and Manufacturing Network (EMN) has set out ambitions to build a stronger and more successful engineering and manufacturing sector in the North East.
At a recent event in Houghton-le-Spring, 124 firms, including SMEs and PLCs, heard how EMN will help companies to learn from each other in the pursuit of growth. An industry panel at the event, which featured David Land, chairman of EMN; Philip Astley, managing director of The Expanded Metal Company; Dawn Flynn, director of B2B Injection Moulding Ltd; Richard Bradley, managing director of Dyer Engineering Ltd; Andrew Howe, operations director at Turnmill Engineering and John Bignall, founder of Bignall Group, highlighted the importance of collaboration and peer-to-peer support in today’s economic climate.
David Land, chairman of EMN said: “It was thrilling to see so many people join us at this event to discover how EMN can support them – and how we can help them to support each other. Through EMN, people working in engineering and manufacturing businesses, across all roles, can access impartial peer to peer advice, spark new relationships, find new opportunities, improve performance and gain more market exposure for their companies.
“Our events programme and the bigger and better EMCON show, along with our ongoing work on behalf of our members, all contributes to creating a stronger engineering and manufacturing community in North East England, and to building a better future for our region.”
Philip Astley, managing director of The Expanded Metal Company and an EMN board member, added: "Supply chain issues, rising energy costs and skills shortages are impacting on engineering and manufacturing businesses across our region. It’s therefore extremely important that we work together as a community to take on these challenges, through innovation, collaboration and knowledge sharing. EMN is playing a crucial role in creating an environment where that can happen."
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