Celebrating the North East Charity Sector

Children North East was proud to last night attend the North East Charity Awards. The annual awards were a poignant celebration after 18 months of disruption for our sector and its communities.

The evening, hosted by Reach plc at Ramside Hall in Durham, brought together almost 300 sector leaders, employees, volunteers and supporters under one roof.

It offered a welcome moment to reflect on our impact as individuals and as a collective, and an opportunity to see hear about the great work taking place across our region to improve lives and drive social change

Our team were also in attendance to celebrate a nomination in the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Social Change’ Award.

Leigh Elliott, Chief Executive of Children North East, comments, “We are proud to be making an impact on tens of thousands of babies, children and young people across the North East and beyond each year. The team make the scope and quality of our work possible and being included in this event is a tribute to every one of them.”

Children North East was recognised for its rapid response to the impact of the pandemic, which included quickly adapting our Poverty Proofing© programme for schools, and distributing almost 5,000 packages to families in need, including laptops for remote learning and creative play kits. It also acknowledged our role in promoting that the voices of children and young people are heard when it comes to decisions that impact them.

The category, sponsored by Millfield House Foundation, celebrates organisations that are ‘amplifying the voices of the people they represent and driving social change’. On the night, the Award went to Thrive Teesside, a fantastic organisation that trains and empowers individuals and communities to campaign for issues relating to equality.

Luke Bramhall, Head of Youth Services and Poverty Proofing, comments, “The events of the last 18 months have moved the experiences of young people in poverty up the public agenda and this recognition will help us advocate and act for change in this space.”