GNR and Mamma Mia Ball

Hi Sunshine News readers,

We can’t quite believe it’s July and that we’re now half-way through the year! What a six months it’s been!

Our Yorkshire 3 Peaks Trek and Sunshine Run were of course highlights, but we also enjoyed visiting the farm with our families at Easter, collecting in supermarkets and shopping centres again plus we welcomed baby Rueben to the Sunshine Team (although we are missing Ashleigh terribly!).

We also welcomed our Family Coordinator Rachel back from Maternity Leave, so it’s been full of changes and “returning to normal” but that’s suited us just fine.

It's been pretty quiet this week with Siobhan and Bev sunning themselves on annual leave – they’re potentially our loudest team members – so when I say quiet, I mean peaceful.

The rest of the team have been hard at work finalising summer events and getting things in place for autumn when our events season really kicks off!

Now, we’re not going to mention Jesus’ Birthday just yet, however now that we’re losing a few minutes of light each day, we can’t ignore that autumn will be here before we know it,

which means Great North Run season and of course our annual ball!

I think a few of us have probably forgotten that we’ve secured a GNR ballot place (that’s me!) and done absolutely no training yet, however all is not lost as now is the perfect time to start training.

Our guaranteed charity places sold out within a matter of weeks however you can still join Team Sunshine along with our event partners, True Potential if you have a ballot place and want to raise what you can for an amazing local cause!

We also have #teamminisunshine who will be taking part in the Mini, Junior, wheelchair, and accessible waves on Saturday, September 10 down on the Quayside.

Please contact me directly if you are interested in your child taking part.

If you are the parent or carer of a child with a disability or additional need who would need to use a wheelchair or walking frame to take part or might just need to complete a shorter distance, please get in touch so that we can talk through the event with you.

We know many parents are hesitant to take part in sporting events with their children and are worried about accessibility, however we are working directly with Great Run to ensure children of all abilities can have a safe, fun and inclusive experience.

Our team have been having fun in the office recently filming some Mamma Mia and ABBA inspired TikTok’s to raise awareness of our upcoming annual ball.

“I Have a Dream”, The Mamma Mia Ball, is our theme this year and we are beyond excited to be presenting alongside our event partners St James’ Square Law Firm.

Our ball is always jam packed with entertainment but this year really is the cherry on top as we welcome back Glimmer, the sensational vocal trio who will transport us back to the 70s or the Greek islands (this is of course age dependant, and whether you were around to enjoy ABBA as they stormed the UK charts, or discovered them by falling in love with the 1999 Stage Musical, Mamma Mia) and get everyone on the dancefloor.

We are also welcoming back our all-time favourite host, BBC Newcastle’s Anna Foster plus new for 2022, our co-host (and Greek born) John Celestus who will also be providing some fabulous entertainment, and finally, completing this pretty impressive line-up is the North Easts very own, Dave Lynas.

You can buy single tickets or full tables as a organisation or individual, please contact our lovely Erin to reserve tickets or a table today.

That’s all from us this week, have a great weekend.

Lauren x