North
East & Cumbria benefits by £1.3 million from ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Children
In Need
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Children in Need has awarded a staggering £1.3 million to
good causes in the North East & Cumbria in the past year.
The
final amount raised by the 2001 Appeal was an incredible £25
million - £5 million up on the previous year's final total,
which smashes all records of money raised by supporters since the
charity began in 1927.
A total
of 80 registered charities or voluntary and community groups that
support youngsters aged 18 and under in the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ North East &
Cumbria region have been helped by the generous donations of millions
of people last year.
Among
the recipients are:
East
Cleveland Youth Housing Trust
The
isolated rural villages in the East Cleveland area offer few opportunities
for the people who live there, especially opportunities to find
work.
Poverty
puts extra stresses on families, which can lead to disruption of
family relationships, driving many young people away from home and
attending school.
This
is the point when the East Cleveland Youth Housing Trust steps in
to offer help and support and a real chance for some of these youngsters
to turn their lives around towards better prospects.
It
provides supported accommodation for those in housing need and training
opportunities for learning building skills, through the renovation
of local empty properties.
Finally,
it helps these young people to rebuild their confidence and self
esteem, as well as offering practical support such as help with
filling out benefit forms and job applications. It helps them to
move forward and go on to live independently.
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Children in Need grant is helping ECYHT to build an even firmer
foundation on which to develop its work by providing the salary
of a part-time young person's development co-ordinator for the next
three years, totalling £37,666.
The
Children's Foundation, Newcastle upon Tyne
For
children with cerebral palsy, daily life is a constant challenge.
Adolescents,
in particular, often experience acute isolation, as well as lack
of opportunity to continue their education and poor job prospects.
This
undermines their self-esteem and hinders integration into society
and achievement of full independence.
The
Children's Foundation, which was set up to improve the health of
children in the North East & Cumbria, has come up with an innovative
way of supporting these children, with the help of a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Children
in Need grant of £24,320.
This
will provide 32 specially adapted computers for use in the homes
of these 15 and 16 year olds.
They
will be linked to the Golden Freeway dedicated website, which will
allow them to directly access careers services, prospective employers
and further education institutions.
There
will also be links to information on suitable leisure activities
and holiday resorts with facilities for disabled young people.
This
internet-based service has already proved very successful in its
use by children with other disabilities. It helps them develop valuable
IT skills and prepares them for the transition to adulthood and
independence.
St
Oswald's Hospice, Newcastle upon Tyne
Living
with the knowledge that a child has a short life expectancy puts
an immeasurable physical and emotional strain on the whole family.
The
welcome news is that there will soon be a service available in the
North East which will be able to offer these families the care and
support they so greatly need and that will give the children the
best quality of life they can possibly have.
St
Oswald's Hospice, which has been providing specialist palliative
care to adults with life-limiting illness for 15 years, has now
started building work on extending its much-valued service to provide
hospice care for children suffering with progressive long-term illnesses.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Children in Need's grant of £44,751 will provide easy to handle
hoists throughout the bedrooms, bathrooms, play and therapy areas
making it much easier for the children to access and use all the
facilities, without any loss of personal dignity and independence.
Something
which is so important to older children and teenagers.
Chart-topping
acts Sugababes, Liberty X and Busted will be be giving their
all for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Children in Need this year when they perform live at
a free outdoor concert at Middlesbrough Football Club on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Children
in Need night.
Singing
alongside them are three North East acts: Durham-based Juke Box
Jive, 5Steps2Abba and Byker Grove actress Holly Wilkinson, performing
her debut single End of the Line.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Sport's Roger Black and CÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½'s Angellica Bell will be presenting
at the concert on Friday 15 November.
It
is one of three massive events across England coinciding with the
major annual TV event on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ ONE, hosted by Terry Wogan and Gaby
Roslin.
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Radio Cleveland is broadcasting the whole concert live on 95FM and
95.8FM and presenter Sue Sweeney will be going backstage with the
stars of the show, talking to the acts performing, and of course
meeting people in the crowd who have helped raise money for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Children in Need.
The
ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Bus - equipped with a suite of computer facilities and tutors
to teach IT skills - will also be parked nearby for concert-goers
to follow the events of the night on the World Wide Web.
To
make a donation to the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Children In Need Appeal, call 0845 733
2233. Calls are charged at local rate.
Check
out the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Children In Need website at
Asda,
BT and HSBC are Principal Corporate Supporters of the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Children
in Need Appeal.
Notes
to Editors
More
stories on where some of the money raised in last year's appeal
has been spent is available by contacting the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ North East &
Cumbria Press Office, via the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Press Office Contact Us icon on
the left of this page.
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