Get on board to help kids!

It might be grey outside, but it's sunny in here!

The January blues are nowhere to be seen here at Sunshine HQ this week. Although many of us are feeling the pinch after overindulging over the festive period, we’re not letting that stop us making sure we’re continuing to support children right here in the North-East.

This week we launched our simple guide in how you can support us -for free! That’s right, what is better than supporting your local charity to make you feel good in the grey month that is January. It has never been simpler to give generously and support us, even when the pennies aren’t stacking up in your favour.

Have you thought about engaging with us on social media? We are avid updaters on all or goings on, across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. A simple like, share or comment on our pages makes sure that we pop up in even more people’s news feeds. It also ensures that we know exactly what you, our wonderful supporters, want to hear from us directly. We love sharing our success stories with you, and the smiles on the faces of children living with disabilities that we have supplied specialist equipment for, and we would love for you to tell us how much you like to hear from us too. You can find us on all platforms b simply searching The Chronicle Sunshine Fund.

Hitting the January sales? Have you ever thought about stepping up your charitable giving game and shopping with Amazon Smile whilst doing your online shop? A website that is operated by Amazon, with the exact same products, pricing and shopping features Amazon Smile donates 0.5% of your purchase to a charitable organisation of your choice – which of course can be us. It doesn’t stop there, DontSendMeACard.com is another wonderful website that bumps up your regular spending habits by giving you the chance to change your regular greetings cards into E-Cards, whilst helping a charity. Simply by giving what you would have spent on cards and stamps anyway you’re helping a charity that you care about without being out of pocket. Totally customisable and fun, your loved ones will enjoy receiving this alternative for birthdays and occasions, and you get to feel great for supporting us.

How about supporting us by donating the gift of time? There is nothing we love to see more than our supporters hosting their own fundraising, raising awareness on our behalf and taking part in one of our events, be it volunteering or a guest. In 2020 we have so many exciting opportunities for you to take part and show that you care by helping us raise more money than ever to support young lives. Please do get in touch, or sign up to our newsletter on our website, we always love to hear from you.

Leading by example this week, were our wonderful friends at Stagecoach who very kindly donated a bus to Hadrian School. The school, who caters for the needs of pupils aged between two and eleven years with a range of additional needs, was over the moon to be the beneficiaries of Stagecoach North-Easts generous gift. The bus will be parked on the school grounds and utilised as an interactive space for the pupils to benefit from. The children will learn life skills on the bus, such as working out the correct fares and destinations, as well as a sensory tool in drama classes, art classes, summer fares and occasions. Arriving at the school on Monday, kindly dropped off by Alpha Recovery, the retired bus has found its new permanent home and is ready to be enjoyed by the pupils.