North East construction firms have helped upgrade Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter in its 125th anniversary year.
Following a rallying call from Angela Carney, the managing director at Carney Consultancy and director at Carney CDM, a number of organisations offered their services free of charge.
They include construction students from Tyne Met College, Applebridge Construction, Carney Consultancy and Rainton Construction, who were made aware of the project by Stuart Miller, director at Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) - North East.
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Chris Bray, CEO at Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter, said: “The shelter has never been busier with people helping onsite and preparing us for the future. We were established 125 years ago and with a little help from our friends we hope to be here for many years to come.
“The shelter is home not just to cats and dogs but rabbits, horses, pigs, several donkeys and Houdini the goat! We try to make their stay is as comfortable as possible while looking for permanent homes.
“Thanks to Angela and her contacts, we have had unbelievable support from local companies and it is great to see construction students at Tyne Met College gaining real life work experience as they decorate the shelter’s meeting spaces.
“Rainton Construction and Applebridge Construction very kindly offered to assist with the maintenance and upgrade to a road and car park, which would have cost us over £15,000 if we had gone out to tender. It really was in such poor condition and with many of our visitors either elderly or with young families, it was always upsetting that the car park was not a positive first impression of the shelter. The care we give animals is first class, we will soon have a first-class car park to go with it!
“A huge thanks to all who have donated their time, resource and energy to help us.”
An outdoor advertising company is helping fight knife crime through a new partnership with Crimestoppers.
North East-based Smart Outdoor is showcasing adverts from the charity’s ‘Silence Won’t Stop Violence’ campaign across 250 of its high-footfall advertising screens throughout June and July.
Featuring on roadside, retail and petrol station sites across the UK, the campaign aims to encourage people to report what they know about violent crime incidents or planned attacks using Crimestoppers’ unique anonymous reporting service.
The charity is working with a number of Violence Reduction Units across the UK to support a public health approach to tackling violence through the initiative, with Smart Outdoor’s Smart Digital Network (SDN) helping raise public awareness.
Julian Carter, commercial director at SDN, said: “The partnership with Crimestoppers is a fantastic example of how outdoor advertising and smart technology can act as a real force for good.
“By teaming up with the charity to raise awareness of their Silence Won’t Stop Violence campaign we are showcasing how, through the power of media, we can encourage people across the UK to speak up and reassure them that their voices will be heard.
“We all have a role to play in tackling issues such as knife crime in our communities and we are proud to be playing our part here at Smart.”
Robson Laidler Accountants scooped the title of North East Accountancy Firm of the Year at the prestigious North East Accountancy Awards.
It comes hot off the heels of the firm becoming the region’s first accredited B Corporation in the region, which is awarded to businesses who display the highest standards in social, environmental and economic performance.
The 14 th North East Accountancy Awards – sponsored by Nigel Wright Recruitment – gathered together the best of the North East finance community to share their successes and achievements of the past two-years in a night of great celebration.
The Firm of the Year award recognised Robson Laidler’s achievements in meeting rigorous social and environmental standards, which represents the firm’s commitment to goals outside of profit and having a positive impact on its people, clients and the environment.
In the past 12 months Robson Laidler has secured an additional £400,000 in new business, increasing turnover by 13.5%. And as part of its profit-sharing scheme, the firm split profits between staff.
The firm was also praised for its involvement in the region’s second largest acquisition deal to date, supporting Tombola on its £402m acquisition by Flutter Entertainment in November 2021.
Graham Purvis, Robson Laidler's managing director, said: “We are beyond proud to receive regional recognition for the work we have done over the past 24-months to make a positive difference to the lives of our people, clients and our communities.
“From setting up initiatives to help our clients overcome the barriers of the Covid-19 pandemic to help them evolve and make sustainable businesses, to enhancing our HR policies for staff, to becoming B Corp accredited and launching our own Community Foundation giving 5% of our profits to local charitable causes – we really have considered all our stakeholders in our business strategy to ensure we make the biggest positive impact.
“But most of all this award is for our team; it is the external recognition for the part they have all played in making the company what it is today. We know that more work is needed to get us to where we want to be as a business but for now, we are delighted to celebrate our success and to be an advocate for businesses in our region.”
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