Jun 202 min read

Sunshine Takeover: A warm welcome to our new head of charity as he writes this week’s column

Hi Sunshine News Readers,

Our marketing and communications officer Sophie is having a well-earned break from the column this week as she’s been organising everything Sunshine Run related, which has given me the perfect opportunity to introduce myself after a few weeks as the new head of charity, here at The Chronicle Sunshine Fund.

Like so many people in our region, I’ve always been aware of the fantastic work of TCSF and the hundreds of children and families it has supported over the years. The charity has always been a warm and welcoming glow across the city as it shines a light on the children, young people and their families who need our assistance.

I grew up in Newcastle, and I’ve been involved with local good causes for almost 25 years doing everything from being a trustee to a volunteer, and while we would all love to live in a world where charities aren’t required to the level they are today, the reality is that the need is there more than ever and it’s only through the generosity, kindness and compassion of those that support good causes that we’re able to deliver such amazing results for those at times of need.

Since I started with TCSF I’ve learned so much about the importance of the community that surrounds us, and in turn surrounds our Sunshine Families, and I can’t wait to keep on learning about how we can push forward and enhance the unparalleled service we provide. Over the last week I’ve seen our team attend City Council SEND events and heard how we have transformed local families’ lives. I also had the pleasure of attending an open day at Thomas Bewick School where I learned about the fantastic provision they have in place for local autistic children – and it seemed like destiny to be there when the choir’s opening song was ‘Sunshine in my Heart’, a future TCSF theme tune for sure!

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I’ve written today’s column fresh from returning from this week’s Sunshine Run, which Sophie will tell you about next week, where I witnessed hundreds of people coming together with the common purpose of making a massive impact to our TCSF families. Because individually we can do so much for our local communities, but it’s when we join forces and come together that we can truly transform local people’s lives.

So, with joining forces in mind, today is the last day to nominate us in the Benefact Group – Movement for Good draw, which would give us the chance to receive £5,000 next week! This is a special draw as it’s only available to good causes who support children and young people, and a donation of £5,000 would go a long way to provide essential equipment in our next funding round in August. It only takes a minute to nominate us, you just need to visit youth.movementforgood.com and nominations close at midnight tonight (Friday, June 21).