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/.

Get Involved in Byte Night 2009

Did you know...

“One in four adults have been worried that a child they know or living in their area is being neglected, and over a third did not tell anyone about their concerns.”

At Bond we want to make a difference and give something back to the community. We were recently approached by Action for Children to see if we would host Byte Night 2009 in the North East, after we held a similar event last year.

Byte Night is an annual event where the business community across the UK sleep outside for one night to experience what it is like to be homeless. This year the event will take place on October 2nd - the venue will be announced soon.

Developed by Action for Children, Byte Night aims to raise money to help support children and young people who are affected by poverty, disability, abuse or neglect.

A board has now been elected which consists of several members of the Bond team, Nigel Begg from Aspire Technology Solutions, Andy Walton from Knowledge IT and Andrew Fisk from Tagish - all have been working hard to canvas volunteers and sponsors.

As this is the first official Byte Night event to be held in the region we want to make it a success. As well as offering a great networking opportunity, we want volunteers to enjoy the experience, so if there is anything you would like to see at Byte Night, please contact us.

We still have a lot to organise and it is vital that we get support from the local business community. With this in mind we would love to hear from anyone who is interested in volunteering and making a difference to children in the UK.

We are also looking for a series of sponsors to provide food and entertainment on the night, so if you, or anyone you know could help, please contact us. It is for a great cause after all!

Our first sponsor is Paul Keating of Red Boat Photography who will be the official photographer on the night.

Last year we had 11 volunteers who participated in the event. This year we are aiming to quadruple this figure and sign up a minimum of 40 volunteers – we will keep you posted on our progress.

We really want to make a big difference and we cannot do this without your help, so please get involved and help us change the course of young lives.

If you require any information or have any questions, please email bytenight@bond-solutions.com.

Please also keep checking this blog as all news will be posted here first. You can also visit Byte Night’s website at http://www.bytenight.org.uk/.