Local children’s charity, Team Evie, receives over £29,000 from Barratt Developments North East, following fundraising initiatives completed as its nominated Charity of the Year.
Set up by Evie’s parents, Team Evie is a charity dedicated to helping sick children and their families across the North East and Cumbria through challenging times, and relies on the generosity of its supporters to continue. The charity provides a range of invaluable support to families on the hospital wards, such as those at Great North Children’s Hospital in Newcastle and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gateshead, giving out ‘parent bags’ for families miles from home. In addition, Team Evie provides medical equipment, physiotherapy equipment, comfort items, sensory toys and portable libraries to the wards to help families through each tough journey of having a sick child.
Nominated as Barratt Developments North East’s Charity of the Year from 2022 – 2023, the housebuilder has facilitated multiple fundraising initiatives throughout the partnership in order to raise much-needed funds for the charity. Fundraising initiatives have included the likes of show home furniture auctions, ‘Wear it Green’ days in the office, wreath-making events and book donations at Christmas. Most recently, the Technical team completed a 100-mile cycle from its most southerly development, The Orchard at West Park in Darlington, up to its most north development, South Fields in Morpeth.
The North East division raised over £14,000 over the past 12 months, which was match-funded by the housebuilder’s Barratt Foundation to make a total of over £29,000.
Greg Johnston, Evie’s father and Chief Executive at Team Evie, commented: “We’re extremely grateful to the team at Barratt Developments North East for their continued support throughout our partnership. It’s been fantastic to work so closely with them, and their continued efforts have been wonderful to see. The donation that we’ve received will make a huge difference to our charity, and allow us to support even more families within the region.”
Carl Sobolewski, Managing Director of Barratt Developments North East, said: “It’s been wonderful to work so closely with Team Evie over the past year as our dedicated Charity of the Year. Making a difference to the areas in which we build is a hugely important part of work when developing and supporting communities, and we’re so pleased to have been able to support such an incredible charity that touches the lives of so many people.
“Team Evie relies heavily on generous donations in order to continue their fantastic work, and whilst we’re so pleased to have been able to support their mission, continued support is crucial. As £150,000 is needed to be raised for the charity’s services each year. I strongly urge other businesses in the area to help keep this momentum, and provide support wherever possible to the charity in order to allow them to continue supporting families who need it the very most.”
