Money from the BBC’s Children in Need Appeal has been awarded to a number of worthy causes throughout Tyneside and Northumberland. So far, almost £600,000 of the charity’s money has been handed out to deserving projects in the regions.
The Children in Need appeal is an annual television charity appeal that takes place all over the country. Every year, a number of people undertake sponsored events such as sitting in a bath full of baked beans or wearing their pyjamas to work, while others pledge money over the telephone. Terry Wogan presents the charity television show with a little help from the charity’s one-eyed mascot, Pudsey Bear. Last year, the appeal raised over £36 million, and it is being distributed to children’s charities nationwide.
This year, there are 13 projects in Tyneside and Northumberland that have been awarded Children in Need grants to the value of nearly £600,000. The charitable schemes that will benefit from the funds are: Radio Lollipop at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, Longbenton Youth Project, Gateway into the Community, North Tyneside Disability Forum, Crossroads Gateshead, South Tyneside Asylum Seekers and Refugee Church Help (Starch), Berwick Youth Project, North of England Refugee Service, Escape Intervention Services, Bubble Foundation at Newcastle General Hospital, African Community Advice North East, Benwell Young People's Development Group, and the West End Women and Girls Centre.
Kelly Bland is a youth worker at the Longbenton Youth Project, a project for young people between 14 and 25, which has been going for 14 years. She says that the project is “all about change for the better in young people's lives… It is about arming them with skills, experience and knowledge so that they can go on.” She believes that the grants the project is awarded by Children in Need are ‘crucial’ to the continuation of their work. Indeed, the service has just been awarded a Children in Need grant of £85,544, which will pay for a detached youth worker's post for three years and help to enrich the lives of young people throughout the area.
Source:
BBC