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Local charity hits £40,000 fundraising target, with help from PCC

5th February 2019

Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland have succeeded in raising £40k in celebration of 40 years in the region.

Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland (RCTN), a charity that provides services to women and girls who live, work or study in Tyneside and Northumberland, are celebrating raising £40,000, thanks to a whole year of fundraising activities and a small additional special grant from Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria, Dame Vera Baird QC.

The charity’s £40k for 40 campaign kicked off in January 2018 with an Afternoon Tea at the Crowne Plaza’s Stephenson Quarter and was given a head start from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria who helped them achieve their target with a donation from the Police Property Fund.

Over the course of year, RCTN played host to a range of fundraising events, including a Cabaret on International Women’s Day; two hugely-successful Comedy Nights; an exhibition in collaboration with students at Northumbria University, and the Her Story conference, which centred on sharing the success stories of women across a range of industries. Not to mention the members of the public who got behind the campaign, going to extraordinary lengths to show support for the charity, such as one supporter who cycled 5,000km from Canada to Mexico, raising over £5,000 in the process.

Co-CEO of RCTN, Sue Pearce MBE, said: “We are delighted to have hit our fundraising target of £40,000, which will enable us to continue our work with women and girls across the region. We can’t thank our supporters, fundraisers and event organisers enough. We wanted to celebrate our 40th anniversary by hosting a whole year of fundraising events; not only have we succeeded in reaching our fundraising goal, but we have had a lot of fun along the way!”

Dame Vera Baird QC, who helped boost the charity’s fundraising efforts including telling ‘Her story’ at the fundraising conference they held, said: “Over the last 40 years Rape Crisis has provided essential support  – helping victims in our area to cope, recover and move on with their lives. Although, of course, I wish there was no need for such a service – I hope they are able to continue this vital work for another 40 years or more.”