The Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust is the latest charity beneficiary of The Great Northern Raffle.
The Trust is an independent charity which relies on its share of ticket sales from performances to meet the costs of running and maintaining the Grade 1 listed Theatre Royal and the extensive communication, education and participation activities the theatre organises.
Like all theatres and venues, the Theatre Royal has been closed throughout the pandemic causing a significant loss of income.
Entrepreneur Jeremy Middleton CBE founded Charity Escapes, which has raised several hundred thousand pounds for charity. The Great Northern Raffle offers charities a fundraising platform to help compensate for the lack of ‘live’ events, whether fundraising or revenue generating shows.
The Christmas draw is being supported by Robert Forrester, chief executive of Bristol Street Motors, which has donated a 70 plate £17,000 Hyundai i10 N-Line in Dragon Red as top prize. A number of other North East businesses have also got behind the initiative, offering donations and prizes.
Jeremy Middleton said: “We’re delighted to welcome the Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust to our growing number of charities benefitting from The Great Northern Raffle.
“The Theatre Royal is an iconic building in Newcastle, and a hub for many fantastic musicals, plays and much more.
“Even when it can re-open the audience numbers will be greatly reduced to take into account social distancing meaning that every single penny will count to ensure the survival of this Newcastle institution.
“I hope that the public will support the theatre, and all the other fantastic charities carrying out sterling work across the North East.”
The Christmas raffle closes on 31st Dec at 9pm and winner to be announced on ‘Blue Monday’ – Monday 18th Jan 2021
The Raffle is easy to enter – text RAFFLE to 70215 for more information and you’ll be entered into the free draw with the option to make a donation to support the charities. Details of how to support an individual charity, terms and conditions and how charities and businesses can get involved are on the website.
