CHARITY BOOST
Over £ 3,000 raised for Together 21 at Make Your Mark Awards
service supporting children and
A young people aged 0 to 17 with Down syndrome was chosen as the evening’ s nominated charity at the 2025 Make Your Mark Awards.
Following a powerful speech by project lead Georgina Beckensall and an inspiring video presentation, the Newton Aycliffe business community came together to raise an incredible £ 3,000 on the night.
The funds will help provide a complete package of care for a child, including speech and language therapy, physical support and emotional development.
It also enables Together 21 to continue offering a dedicated staff member for its weekly early years group, delivering tailored language and communication support.
Together 21 fills a crucial gap with families travelling from across the region to access more than 200 hours of face-to-face sessions each year. The service is dedicated to making
Aycliffe Business Make Your Mark Awards
Together 21 project lead Georgina Beckensall delivered a powerful speech to the 300-strong audience at the 2025 Make Your Mark Awards.
a difference in the lives of those who need it most.
Georgina said:“ We are overwhelmed and so grateful for all donations made.
“ We want to send our biggest of thanks to Aycliffe Business Park for choosing Together 21 as the evening’ s charity for businesses to donate to – and, of course, to every business and individual who donated, with some significant contributions being given. It will go such a long way.
“ With the donations, you enable us to deliver face-to-face support to children, young people and families who come to us from throughout the North-East.”
Donations are welcome all year round. To find out more about Together 21, visit pcp. uk. net / together-21
Health and wellbeing charity, Pioneering Care Partnership( PCP), is proud to deliver Together 21 from its healthy living hub, the Pioneering Care Centre in Newton Aycliffe.
RECOGNITION FOR KERINA
Aycliffe stalwart presented with surprise Ambassador award
Kerina Clark was presented with a special, surprise trophy at the 2025 Make Your
Mark Awards. For 12 years, Kerina was at the heart of Aycliffe Business Park Community( ABPC), steering the organisation through a period of extraordinary transformation.
As chair, she helped establish ABPC as a vital and influential network that connected businesses of all sizes, championed local enterprise and amplified the voice of the North-East’ s largest business park.
When Kerina first took on the role, Aycliffe Business Park was already home to a diverse range of businesses, but the sense of a unified community was still developing.
Under her leadership, ABPC evolved into a cohesive, supportive network.
She was instrumental in setting up regular news and networking meetings, providing businesses with a platform to share
Former Aycliffe Business Park Community chair Kerina Clark was presented with an Aycliffe Ambassador award, acknowledging her 12 years’ service to ABPC.
opportunities, concerns and successes.
These events quickly became a fixture in the local business calendar, fostering a spirit of collaboration that remains today.
“ One of Kerina’ s standout achievements was her work to strengthen the relationship between ABPC and the education sector,” said ABPC acting chair Pamela Petty.
“ She encouraged initiatives that helped bridge the gap between businesses and young people, co-creating the Aspire programme which has been a huge success.
“ Her collaborative leadership style, combined with a clear vision and deep-rooted passion for local business, has had a lasting impact.”
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 33