Member Article

THE SUNSHINE FUND MOVES CLOSER TO WINNING ...

THE SUNSHINE FUND MOVES CLOSER TO WINNING A £250,000 PERSIMMON HOUSE

A North East charity that aims to enhance the lives of children with disabilities and their families is edging closer to winning a £250,000 home.

Persimmon Homes, one of the UK’s leading housebuilders, is celebrating its 40th birthday by giving away the house, plus a further £138,000 in cash to local community charities.
One lucky charity will win the brand new three bedroom detached house with garage valued at £250,000, while a further 23 runners up will each receive a £6,000 donation from Persimmon.
The Sunshine Fund, which has provided over £1 million for essential equipment, learning aids and custom-built apparatus for children with disabilities, is one of three charities to have made the regional final for the North East, with The Cramlington Youth Project and Newcastle Healthcare Charity completing the trio.
An independent panel will now decide which charity will be chosen to go through to the national final.
John Eynon, managing director for Persimmon Homes North East, said: “The competition attracted more than 3,000 entries and we would like to thank everyone in our region who took part.
“It was a difficult task picking out just three from all the worthy nominations in our region and we wish these three very special charities well for the next stage of judging.”
The Sunshine Fund was established in 1928 by King George V during his visit to Tyneside.To commemorate the opening of the Tyne Bridge, he made a small donation to give children a day out at the coast.

In 1995, the fund was adopted by the region’s biggest daily newspaper, the Evening Chronicle, before being granted charitable status in 2010.
Caroll Pattison, director of The Sunshine Fund, said: “To be chosen as a regional finalist is amazing, winning this competition could make a real difference to the quality of life for children with disabilities in the North East.
According to Sarah Clark, business development manager of The Sunshine Fund, winning a £250,000 Persimmon house would help address their specialist equipment waiting list.
She said: “Every year we rely on the generosity of business, organisations and local people to achieve our aims. For the first time ever we have a waiting list of children needing equipment and we have set our sights high this year. We want to raise as much money as possible.”
The list of national finalists will be published online at www.persimmonhomes.com/40on August 9, 2012 and then the public voting stage of the competition will start.
The winning charity will be announced at a special Persimmon Homes birthday charity lunch on 27 September 2012 at Kensington Roof Gardens, London.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by sarah clark .