Our Update
Charity of the year announced
We are delighted to announce Heel & Toe as our 2012 charity of the year, following votes from staff inspired by the Durham-based charity’s work with children suffering from dyspraxia and cerebral palsy. Heel & Toe works with children who suffer from dyspraxia, cerebral palsy and other muscular or movement conditions, to provide free conductive education therapy. Heel & Toe was formed in 2008 after a national charity stopped providing the service in the local area. The method builds coordination and muscle strength through play and exercise.
Sarah Stewart, NewcastleGateshead Initiative chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be supporting Heel & Toe throughout this financial year. The work they do to enrich the lives of so many children and their families across the North East is incredibly important. At NewcastleGateshead Initiative we understand our support can help to gain exposure and funds for local charities and we’re committed to working in partnership with Heel & Toe in order to grow their profile across the breadth of our partnership network, where we work with around 165 businesses.”
Currently the charity relies solely on donations from parents and the public and aims to raise £1m to build a specialised unit to support all who need their help, and a further £300,000 annually as demand for the charity’s services continues to grow. Amanda Tweedy, development and fundraising officer at Heel & Toe, said; “The fact that the team at NewcastleGateshead Initiative realised how important their support would be to helping our children continue coming to the facility each week was a big boost for us and will make a huge difference.
“The charity receives no government funding and the demand for our service is so high that in 2011 we provided over 10,500 free hours of therapy which typically would have cost families £650,000 if they had to pay. We have quickly had to adapt and grow to meet the increased demand for our services as the only local charity supporting children through conductive education therapy free of charge. On behalf of all our children and their parents, I’d like to say a big thank you to NewcastleGateshead Initiative for their support.”
We will be organising various fundraising activities throughout 2012 and supporting several of Heel & Toe’s planned events in the coming months, including a zip slide and sky dive. Since starting the charity partnership scheme last year with St Oswald’s Hospice, we have pledged to use our position within the business community to help charities raise their profiles as well as funds. For more information visit the Heel & Toe website.
Bureau brings major medical meeting
After a meeting with NewcastleGateshead Convention Bureau at the major international exhibition, International Confex 2009, one of the UK’s most prestigious associations last month brought 550 delegates to NewcastleGateshead, contributing around £340,000 to the local economy.
The British Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (BSCCP) held its annual meeting in April 2012 at The Sage Gateshead, with an opening reception for delegates staged at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, and a dinner dance at Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, where the event’s HQ accommodation was also supplied.
The event came about as a result of event management company, In Conference visiting the NewcastleGateshead stand and meeting our Convention Bureau and partner exhibitors at International Confex in 2009. Margaret Sherry, managing director at In Conference, said: “When we met with the Convention Bureau and partners at Confex we were delighted with the wealth of venue options and creative solutions offered up for our client, and were happy to recommend NewcastleGateshead for the BSCCP 2012 annual conference.
“The event was extremely successful, the delegates loved NewcastleGateshead and the venues; the service received was second to none. We’d like to express our thanks to the Convention Bureau for all of their help and support over the last three years. We’d certainly recommend the destination to other clients in the future.”
The Convention Bureau hosts a stand every year at International Confex. For more information, or to find out how your venue can partner with the Convention Bureau, contact our marketing manager, Shelley Johnson, at shelley.johnson@ngi.org.uk
Volunteer call reaps rewards
We’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all our partners and stakeholders for expressing interest in providing volunteers to support our activity over the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games period.
Preparing to support events of this magnitude and significance through public and media relations support isn’t easy, particularly as we often receive very short notice of requests for media hosting, spokespeople, content, images or itineraries.
Already we are experiencing higher levels of requests alongside all of the work we generate proactively and we therefore expect the months of July and August this year to be particularly busy, with a pinch point already identified over the weekend of 4, 5 and 6 August - packed with our Bridges Festival, a major media event we're attending in London and the quarter finals of Olympic football at St. James' Park.
In order to be as prepared as possible we're keen to identify skilled volunteers who are willing and available to support our PR activity over those summer months and potentially on weekends such as 4-6 August.
We're looking for the following kind of skills and experience:
• some experience of media relations/liaison
• strong interpersonal skills
• knowledge of and passion for NewcastleGateshead as a destination (no need to be experts though!)
• happy and available to support in evenings/at weekends and sometimes at short notice - subject to availability.
It would be really helpful if you could provide details of any relevant colleagues and their contact details and we'll seek to organise a briefing session in the coming weeks. Please contact senior PR manager, Kathie Wilcox, at kathie.wilcox@ngi.org.uk
Chance to be part of the iconic celebration
This year, Summer is officially ON! We have pulled together a guide to the key summer festivals and events taking place across NewcastleGateshead from May to September. Summer’s On provides a spring and summer schedule that is jam-packed with a number of festivals and events, plus the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It’s a one stop shop for visitors and residents and is available in print and also in the Summer's On section.
Summer’s On kicks off this weekend (18 and 19 May) with the Late Shows, an inspiring, after-dark programme of events and exhibitions at the cultural venues in NewcastleGateshead that are usually closed in the evening. Museums, galleries and visitor attractions will stay open late to encourage people to do something cultural with their evening. Late Shows Website.
Hot on its heels is Evolution (3 and 4 June), returning this year with a stellar lineup including Deadmau5, Dizzee Rascal, Maxїmo Park and Noah and the Whale. Evolution Festival Website.
Newcastle city centre will be brought to life on 15 June when the Olympic Torch Relay makes its way through the city, completing its journey through Newcastle via zip wire from the Tyne Bridge. With a programme of street animation throughout the route, and an evening celebration on the Quayside, this really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the excitement of Olympic activity in our city. More information is available on the North East for 2012 Games site.
The World Shakespeare Festival comes to NewcastleGateshead with a brilliant offer from the Royal Shakespeare Company at Theatre Royal, Northern Stage and The Sage Gateshead. Productions taking place in NewcastleGateshead include: The Rest is Silent, In a Pickle and Macbeth: Leila and Ben – A Bloody History at Northern Stage; Julius Cesar at Theatre Royal; and West Side Story at The Sage Gateshead. Find more about The World Shakespeare Festival.
EAT! NewcastleGateshead, our acclaimed festival of food, returns for its sixth year from 13-29 July. Championing local producers, restaurants and culinary talent, its eclectic events help people to see (and taste!) food in a new way. Highlights include Cakebook Britain – a scale model of Great Britain made entirely of cake, and the Big EAT! Weekend with Street Food, the Chilli and Beer Festival and Food Heroes Tasting Market. For more details visit the EAT! NewcastleGateshead site.
Newcastle’s St. James’ Park will play host to nine Olympic Football matches from 26 July – 4 August as one of only nine locations to host Olympic Sport outside London. Teams include Brazil, Mexico and Spain. There is more information on Olympic Football fixtures on the North East for 2012 Games site.
On 4 and 5 August the NewcastleGateshead riverscape comes to life in our NewcastleGateshead Bridges Festival; a free, family-friendly festival celebrating the River Tyne and its iconic bridges. The festival will include a range of things to do during the day on Saturday and Sunday with highlights including on-river activity, street theatre and live music. A must-see Saturday Evening Spectacular will transform the River Tyne into a stage to mark the end of Olympic Football in Newcastle with music, performance and fireworks! NewcastleGateshead Bridges Festival
To conclude the summer of festivals and events, the Bupa Great North Run Weekend takes place from 15 and 16 September. This, the world’s most iconic half marathon, is the first international athletics event after the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, providing an unmissable opportunity to see Olympic stars in action. The Junior and Mini Great North Run and Great North City Games kick off the athletics activities on the Quayside on 15 September. More details are available on the Bupa Great North Run Weekend page.
If you are interested in receiving the Summer’s On brochure, please contact madeleine.maughan@ngi.org.uk.
April 2012 Update
