National food manufacturer Walkers donated almost 500 packets of their famous Walkers Crisps to feed performers at Hope 4 Kidz’s Beamish Summer Festival in summer 2009. When the event was cancelled due to severe bad weather, Hope 4 Kidz launched an appeal to find local organisations who would benefit from receiving the free packets of crisps. After being inundated with responses Hope 4 Kidz choose seven worthy causes across the North East, with each receiving at least two boxes of Walkers Crisps containing 48 bags each. These were the Jasmine Sanderson Fund, Hartlepool, the Macmillan Cancer Fund, Hexham, Belmont Youth Club, Burnopfield Play Care Kids Club, Gateshead Crossroads Young Carers, Newcastle Education Business Partnership and South Hylton Tansy Centre.

Whitburn strongman Jim Mulheron raised more than £1,100 for Hope 4 Kidz in May 2009, by completing 1000 one-handed press ups in under an hour. The 47 year-old sought sponsorship for the outstanding feat which he completed at Sunderland’s Campus nightclub, with only his toes and one palm touching the floor throughout the press-ups.

Local man Andy Trewick, took on the gruelling Castles and Coast cycle route to raise £255 for Hope 4 Kidz in May 2009 Andy’s sponsored ride saw him travel almost 200 miles from Newcastle to Edinburgh, calling at Blyth, Alnmouth, Bamburgh, Berwick and several other towns along the way.

Gentoo staff donated more than 150 Easter eggs from the Easter Bunny to be delivered to our good causes in the North East in 2009. Organisations to receive the eggs included SNYP, Southwick, the Young Carers Association, Sunderland and Services to Disabled Children to name but a few.

Whitley Bay resident Eric Little sells air fresheners door to door on behalf of Able Promotions and donates 10% of every item sold to Hope 4 Kidz. Over the years he has raised more than £20,000, for multiple good causes.

More than 900 selection boxes and goody bags were donated to Hope 4 Kidz during the Christmas periods in 2007 and 2008. Kind donors included Virgin Media, Monument Mall, Keel Row Shopping Centre, MetroCentre, Nestle, Frank Haslam Milan, The Gate, Job Centre Plus and the City of Sunderland Council. These Santa Surprises were wrapped by Monkey Business and were given out to more than 200 children at Hope 4 Kidz’s annual Santa Christmas Party, where Monkey Business also provided the party games. The remaining gifts were delivered to a number of other good causes in the area including The Bubble Appeal, Zoe’s Place, Butterwick Hospice, Daisy Chain, The Unicorn Centre, Beacon Hill School and the Niall Quinn Centre, as well as to patients at Sunderland Royal Hospital, Sunderland Eye Infirmary, Newcastle’s RVI Hospital, The General Hospital, Durham University Hospital, The Freeman Hospital, Rake Lane Hospital and the Wansbeck District Hospital.

Members of the women’s networking and business support organisation Forward Ladies raised £350 for the charity during an event at the Great Victoria Hotel, in Bradford in November 2007. Jazz musician Peter Grant, who made a personal appearance at the event and is one of our patrons, also donated his fee for the event.

Staff at Saks hairdressing and beauty salon in Sunderland, raised £430 for Hope 4 Kidz in September 2007 with a special cut and blow dry event at the city centre salon.