Supporters raise £11,000 in two years for Hartlepool charity

A fundraising group is bidding to raise even more money to support a Hartlepool charity.
Some of the support group's Great North runners.Some of the support group's Great North runners.
Some of the support group's Great North runners.

The Hartlepool Special Needs Support Group has its own fundraising arm and it has achieved great feats in the two years since it first formed.

Members have raised more than £11,000 and held 24 events in 22 months.

A group member enjoys meeting a favourite character.A group member enjoys meeting a favourite character.
A group member enjoys meeting a favourite character.

A spokesman said: “We hope to increase this year on year.

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“This couldn’t have been done without the generous residents of Hartlepool joining in to raise money for this much-loved service.”

Hartlepool Special Needs Support Group is a charity set up more than 25 years ago.

It is managed by Pat Allison and supports local families with children and young people who have learning and/or physical disabilities. The fundraising section is a more recent addition.

A group member enjoys meeting a favourite character.A group member enjoys meeting a favourite character.
A group member enjoys meeting a favourite character.

A spokesman said: “We originally started with a family fun day in 2012 at the Park Inn which raised lots of money and improved our recognition in the community.

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“Unfortunately during 2013 we all became too busy with our lives to arrange anything.

“We wanted to stop this happening again because we’d had so much fun and we missed being able to give back to the group. So we decided to form a dedicated Fundraising Group.”

Its fundraising arm was formed in 2014 with founder members Grace Guerin, Sam Gretton, Jamie Allison, Nicola Gelson, Shaun Potts, Thomas Mallinson and Laura Stoddart, who were joined by Beth Allison and Helen Grinter in 2016.

The spokesman added: “We all work voluntarily up to 20 hours every month, depending on activities for the fundraising group. We divide out work according to our strengths.

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“We have among us an IT expert, a delicious baker, a smartphone genius, a doctor, a student nurse and a customer service specialist.

“We use our skills from our day jobs to use in running the fundraising team.

“We will continue fundraising and keep this much valued local service running.”

Anyone wanting more information, or who would like to help, should contact (01429) 863766, email [email protected] or visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hsnsghartlepool.