Friday 16 October 2009

£15,000 RAISED FROM NORTH EAST BYTE NIGHT

We are pleased to announce that so far we have raised £15,000 from North East Byte Night which is a fantastic achievement so a huge thank you to all of our sleepers and those who sponsored them.

We do not currently have a final figure but we will update the blog once this is received.
Thanks again and we hope you will join us in 2010 and build on this year’s success.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

WE DID IT...

The Byte Night board would like to say a huge thank you to those who made the first official North East Byte Night a success.

The wind and rain did not deter the 40 members of the business community who had agreed to give up their beds in aid of Action for Children and we hope everyone involved enjoyed the night.

We raised in excess of £10,000, which was down to the fantastic support we received from the business community - the final figure will be announced soon.

We are already busy planning Byte Night 2010 and hope you will spread the word and help us build on this year’s success – as well as joining us again next year!

Paul Keating of Redboat Photography kindly donated his time to Byte Night - please click here to view all of the photographs he took on the night.

Again, we would like to say a huge thank you to all of those involved in the event and we really hope you will support us next year.

If you would like to get involved in Byte Night 2010, please email bytenight@actionforchildren.org.uk and we will send you details of the event as soon as a date is confirmed.

Friday 2 October 2009

Twas on a regular Friday night...

A great poem about Byte Night by Jayne Temple

Twas on a regular Friday night
The Team at Bond took on a delight
Sleeping Rough was their game
Action for Children was their aim

Thermals, Gloves, Wrap up Warm
Weather Warnings it's gonna storm
Might be an idea to grab a Curry
To make the night go in a Hurry

If it doesn't, all's not lost
Your collective brave efforts are the cost
For your doing this for a wonderful cause
But don't go for a dip or break any laws!!

We Really do wish you well
Hope the night has some stories to tell
Watch out Newcastle here you go
Bond Solutions in the charity flow

xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx xx

Dedicated to My Brother Nick & His Colleagues

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Jill Halfpenny Sends Her Words of Support

Jill Halfpenny has sent her words of support to those giving up their beds on October 2 as part of Byte Night.

Jill said: "Byte Night is a fantastic idea for a truly great cause. Please support it in any way you can and if you know of anyone who will be giving up their bed for a night then please sponsor them and show your support. Thank you so much."

To sponsor us and help raise money for Action for Children please click here.

If you would like to get involved in Byte Night please register at www.bytenight.org.uk/.

Not Long To Go


As October 2 quickly approaches, we are pleased to announce that former ITV anchorwoman Kim Inglis will be hosting North East Byte Night 2009. Kim has been in the media spotlight for the past 15 years and we would like to thank her for supporting the first official Byte Night to be held in the region.

For those who are unable to sleep out, tickets are now on sale for the evening event - with 100% of the ticket price going directly to Action for Children. Tickets cost just £10 and include an evening meal, two drinks and admission to the evening’s entertainment - which will feature performances by two up-and-coming singers and a quiz.

We are pleased to announce that Codeworks Connect is sponsoring North East Byte Night and several members of the team will be volunteering on the night, bringing with them games consoles which will be available for use throughout the evening.

Heather Baxter of GENI is making special Byte Night cupcakes which will be on sale and, speaking from personal experience, are definitely not to be missed. Thank you also to Laura Maddison of Altitude Recruitment who has also donated a box of cupcakes to our raffle.

Byte Night will be a fantastic event in which the business community can come together and raise money for a fantastic cause.

To book your tickets for Byte Night, please email bytenight@bond-solutions.com.

To sign up for Byte Night please visit http://www.bytenight.org.uk/.

We look forward to seeing you there and raising money to help young people in the North East.

Monday 14 September 2009

Well Done Jules!















Congratulations to Julie for completing her skydive on Saturday in aid of Action for Children.

As promised the pictures have arrived!

The weather was fantastic and the team celebrated her safe descent with a BBQ – the pilot even flew the plane over the garden as promised.

Thank you to all of those who sponsored Julie making us 37% closer to reaching our target. This is fantastic and very much appreciated.

We are now looking ahead to Byte Night on October 2, where all of the team will be sleeping rough for one night to experience what it is like to be homeless.

We are hoping this will allow us to reach our £3,000 fundraising target and make a big difference to young people across the region.

Action for Children has helped over 19,000 children in the North East over the past year and it relies on support from the business community to continue its work.

If you would like to get involved in Byte Night please click here and please also visit our JustGiving page www.justgiving.com/bond-solutions if you are able to sponsor us and help change the lives of children across the country.

Click here for more pictures of Julie’s jump.






Wednesday 2 September 2009

EXECUTIVES BRAVE BALTIC CONDITIONS

EXECUTIVES from four local businesses have joined forces in a bid to host the region’s largest charity sleep out.

Derek Curtis and Jerri Murtagh of Bond Solutions, Codeworks Connect board member Andy Walton, Nigel Begg of Aspire Technology Solutions and Andrew Fisk of Tagish have formed a board to lead Byte Night – an event where the business community sleep outside for one night to experience what it is like to be homeless.

Taking place at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art on October 2, all money raised will be donated to the charity Action for Children, which works with young people who are affected by poverty, disability, abuse and neglect.

In the past year Action for Children has helped over 19,000 young people in the North East and the charity heavily relies on funding from local businesses to continue its work.

Managing director Derek Curtis of Bond Solutions said: “Byte Night is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to make a difference to young people in the region and when Action for Children approached me about hosting the event I knew we had to get involved.

“We are delighted that the BALTIC has agreed to host Byte Night and hope that the business community will sign up and support this great cause.

“It’s amazing how much of a difference giving up just one night of your life can make to young people in the region and it would be fantastic if we could get over 80 sleepers.”

Byte Night was established by Ken Deeks and has been running in London for the past 11 years.

Other cities taking part on the night are Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Thames Valley and as this is the first official Byte Night to take place in the region, the board is determined to ensure it makes its mark.

Andy Walton said: “We have a lot of established, new and cutting edge businesses that are all making a difference in their own unique ways and I really believe that this close knit community can help make a significant difference to disadvantaged and young people.

“All monies raised will help tackle the root cause of youth homelessness and help young people get off the streets of the North East. Knowing that without the hard work and commitment from Action for Children many more of our young people would be lost to society, gives me a reason to get involved and I hope others will too.”

Managing director Nigel Begg from Aspire Technology Solutions said: “I am passionate about everything I do and when I was asked to join the board I knew it was an opportunity that I could not miss.

“Byte Night will be a fantastic networking opportunity and give businesses the chance to come together and support a fantastic cause. The current economic climate means Action for Children need our help more than ever and this one night event can make such a huge difference to the charity.”

Andrew Fisk, managing director of Tagish said: “I was involved in an event similar to Byte Night last year and I found it to be a fantastic experience, hence the reason I joined the board this year.

“Byte Night provides businesses with the opportunity to focus their minds away from the day to day issues of achieving success and spend a small amount of time thinking and, more importantly, helping those who are not as fortunate.”

To register for Byte Night please visit http://www.bytenight.org.uk/.