Newcastle Building Society donates a further £35K to North East charities

Newcastle Building Society has extended its support for communities affected by the coronavirus outbreak, with the announcement of grant funding worth more than £35,000.

Fourteen grants have been made to charities across the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria, all focused on supporting people most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grants have been awarded to organisations including Newcastle-based dementia charity Silverline Memories, the Dragonfly Trust and Cumbria Family Support.

Andrew Haigh, chief executive at Newcastle Building Society (pictured) said: “Vulnerable people right across our region have been hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which is why it’s vital that we continue to support our communities during some of the most difficult times they’ll ever face.

“By focusing our impact where it’s needed most, we’re supporting those organisations making a huge difference to people in our region and helping them continue their great work as we start to come out of the crisis.”

Other charities to receive support include Fighting All Cancers Together, Morpeth-based mental health group Contact and Daisy Chain.

The donations have been made by the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation, which provides grants to charities and community groups located in or around the communities served by the Society’s branch network.

Since its launch in 2016, Newcastle Building Society’s Community Fund has contributed over £2.1 million in grants and partnerships to a wide variety of charities and projects across the region, including the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and the Prince’s Trust. The grants are so far estimated to have had a positive impact on more than 151,000 people.

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, in March the society also made a £100,000 contribution to the £1 million appeal set up by the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland for its Coronavirus Recovery and Response Fund.