Legacy gift opens doors for young people

A North East community fund is set to boost opportunities for young people.

The late Steve and Christine Convey’s estate has donated £3 million to create the Steve and Christine Convey Fund at Community Foundation North East. 

The endowment fund supports organisations helping people overcome barriers to employment and opportunity across Tyneside, Northumberland and Ponteland, where the Convey family lived.

Steve and his brother built the successful Convey Bros window cleaning business.

Following the death of Christine in December 2023, the fund was established to honour their legacy by providing ongoing support to local community projects.

In its first grants round, the fund awarded nearly £150,000 to five groups including Blyth Tall Ship, NE Youth, North East Young Dads and Lads Project, Oswin Projects and Projects4Change. 

Richard Roberts, the family’s solicitor and one of the executors to the Convey estate, said: “There can be no better memorial to Steve and Christine than the creation of the Convey Fund at Community Foundation North East. 

“Every year, the foundation, advised by Steve and Christine’s executors Peter Drummond, Ken Wood and I, will distribute grants to organisations supporting intervention work for children, young people and young adults. 

“The purpose is to broaden their horizons, provide new opportunities and inspire them onto positive pathways.”

Rob Williamson, chief executive of Community Foundation North East, which recently outlined bold plans to increase its annual support for local charities and community groups to more than £10 million, added: “It is an honour for us to be working with the executors of Steve and Christine’s estate to ensure their legacy is one of real impact in the community. 

“As an endowment fund at the Community Foundation, it will help people access the opportunities they need right now and for generations to come. 

“What Steve and Christine achieved in their lifetime was inspirational, and we know many more people in our area can realise that kind of entrepreneurial success given the opportunity – this fund is for them and the organisations offering the right support.”

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