03
November
2014
|
23:00
Europe/London

BT volunteers win £2,200 for North Tyneside community groups

BT has rewarded four community groups in North Tyneside with awards totalling £2,200 in recognition of the vital benefits they bring to local people.

The grants have been awarded through the company’s employee recognition scheme, the BT People Awards. The scheme recognises and rewards BT’s volunteering heroes, who offer their time and skills to help people in their local communities, by providing grants to organisations in which they are involved.

St Peter’s Church in Wallsend beat off national competition to achieve second place and £700 in the Arts and Heritage category of the awards. This category recognises those who have made a significant contribution to an arts or heritage project which has measurably benefitted a specific group or region.

Rector, Father David Sudron from St Peters, said: “This money is a welcome boost to our fundraising efforts to install a beautiful stained glass window in the church, replacing one which was destroyed many years ago.

“We are now £700 closer to hitting our £27,000 target which will enable us to make this valuable addition to the church which will be enjoyed by both the congregation and wider local community.

“Volunteering is a special thing someone can do and we are eternally grateful for those people who give many hours to keep our church opening and functioning for the community.”

Jacqueline Wells, an engineer in Openreach, BT local network business, volunteers for the Church and nominated them for the BT People Award. She said: “St Peters always has something going on for the local community whether it is Sunday school, or the children from St Peters school attending service, or our elderly neighbours from Osborne house popping in. It’s fantastic our valuable place in the local community has been recognised with this award.

North Shields School of Boxing, Riverside Netball Club in North Shields and Cullercoats Football Club were all recognised in the BT Sport People Award category. Each club won a £500 sports voucher which can go towards new equipment and kit.

In total, six groups across the North East have received grants to help them continue their excellent work in the community. They are the North Shields School of Boxing, Riverside Netball Club in North Shields, Cullercoats Football Club, Stepney Bank Stables in Newcastle, St Peters Church in Wallsend and the Annfield Plain Community Centre. A detailed list of the winning groups is below.

Farooq Hakim, BT’s North East regional director, said: “The People Awards acknowledges the time and commitment that BT people in the North East are giving to the local community groups for which they volunteer.”

Four hundred and fifty one applications were received for this round of grants and 84 applicants received awards totalling £50,980.

Applications were submitted by BT people from all over the world including Peru, India and Belgium. These included a wide range of community organisations from football clubs to police cadets to red squirrel protection, illustrating the wide variety of activities in which BT people are involved.

For more information and to see a complete list of the latest award recipients please visit: www.btpeopleawards.co.uk or see what BT can do to help charities by visiting: www.bt.com/charityportfolio.

ENDS

For further information please contact the regional BT regional press office on 0800 085 0660.

The North East winners are:
• Riverside Netball Club, North Shields, NE31 2TB £500
• North Shields Amateur Boxing Club, North Shields, NE30 1DE £500
• Stepney Banks, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2NP £500
• Cullercoats Football Club, Links Avenue, Cullercoats, NE30 3DH £500
• Annfield Plain Community Centre, Fairview Terrace, Stanley £1000
• St Peters Church Wallsend, NE28 7LH £700