CHARITY
CARAVAN OF LOVE
Charity donors – Racz Group CEO Mike Racz , patron of Teesside Philanthropic Foundation , with Resolution directors Dave Allan and Martin Walker , organisers of the Tees Tech Awards .
PICTURE : TOM BANKS
G enerous Teessiders raised close to £ 3,000 in a special fundraising event organised alongside the inaugural Tees Tech Awards .
Resolution Media and Publishing – the team behind Tees Business – opened a JustGiving page to raise money for the Teesside Philanthropic Foundation .
The fundraising page was launched in lieu of envelope collections that would normally have been organised for the ‘ physical ’ Tees Tech Awards , which were due to be held at Wynyard Hall , before the organisers had to take it online .
And thanks to a number of substantial donations from Tees companies and individuals , Tees Business smashed their target of raising £ 2,000 by reaching £ 2,350 – with Gift Aid bumping the total figure up to £ 2,820 .
Every penny raised will be donated towards sending some of Teesside ’ s most disadvantaged children and their families for a short break in the foundation ’ s three holiday homes on a caravan site at Reighton Sands , near Filey .
The cash raised should fund at least ten of these trips , and Resolution director Dave Allan said : “ We ’ re thrilled to have raised as much as we did from a virtual
Generous Teessiders donate almost £ 3,000 to Tech Awards fundraising cause
event , because it ’ s a lot easier asking people to donate money in person - it ’ s far more challenging online !
“ But , true to form , the Teesside business family pulled together and helped us smash our target , so we ’ re naturally delighted .”
The Teesside Philanthropic Foundation is a registered charity , set up by Teessiders for Teessiders , and helps businesses and individuals join together to make Middlesbrough and Teesside better places in which to live , work and do business .
The charity has raised more than £ 3m since it was launched in 2011 and continues to fight for some of the most disadvantaged Teessiders and deserving local causes .
Resolution is a long-standing supporter of the Teesside Philanthropic Foundation and founding members of its Infant Hercules membership club .
The publisher has also previously raised more than £ 4,000 in total for Ovarian Cancer Awareness and the Halo Project from their Tees Businesswomen Awards events .
This latest effort takes their total fundraising from their last three events to more than £ 7,000 .
Resolution director Martin Walker added : “ We love organising events , but it ’ s even better when we can generate funds for local causes like this .
“ The Tees Tech Awards was a huge celebration of our region ’ s digital and tech sector , but to see everyone pull together and raise all this money is just fantastic .”
Resolution were able to reach their target thanks to a £ 200 donation from Racz Group CEO Mike Racz , who ’ s also a patron of the Teesside Philanthropic Foundation .
Mike said : “ This is was a fantastic fundraising effort by everyone involved in what was my first experience of virtual awards .
“ Well done to Tees Business for organising this in aid of some of the most disadvantaged Teesside families .”
As well as Mike ’ s donation , Visualsoft CEO Dean Benson made a substantial contribution which helped the JustGiving page reach its original £ 2,000 target .
Other donations came from Tascomp , Mabo , Malcolm Knott of ITS , Wander Films , Bev Goodall of AbacusBean , Emily Bentley , Dave Hawkins , Chris Bricknell , Jane Armitage , Ian Cornwell , Helen Stewart and Ben Doherty .
108 | Tees Business