Darlington Cares is set to take its community projects to new heights following the appointment of a director, programme officer, as well as a local PR and social media agency.
The organisation, which has successfully delivered more than 75 volunteering projects to the town’s schools and charities since 2012, has appointed Seth Pearson, Chelsea Johnson and Harvey & Hugo as part of its ongoing development plans.
Seth, who will continue to act as director of Darlington Partnership alongside his new role at Darlington Cares, has been appointed as the organisation’s new director to provide senior leadership.
The passionate director is looking forward to seeing where the new team can take Darlington Cares.
He said: “Darlington Cares has big plans for the future. The aim is to do even more work in Darlington’s communities, get more volunteers involved in projects and that’s why we’ve grown the team to allow us to achieve this.
“Chelsea is very organised, works like a beaver and her enthusiasm is infectious! She is passionate about volunteering and leads by example, volunteering herself in many different capacities.
“Harvey & Hugo has been appointed to provide its inimitable PR sparkle! The team impressed us with its ideas, wealth of knowledge and social media skills.”
New Programme Officer, Chelsea, who has worked at Darlington Borough Council for the last 10 months, will be responsible for creating and running Darlington Cares’ programmes across the organisation’s three key areas: education, environment and social justice.
Darlington Cares also made the decision to bring the Harvey & Hugo team on board to introduce creative campaigns and develop its social media presence, with the aim of generating a stronger relationship with the local community and businesses.
Speaking about her appointment, Chelsea said: “I am very excited to jump straight into my role and make a start on arranging more programmes and recruiting volunteers.
“Darlington Cares is a fantastic organisation, its volunteers help so many people around Darlington, from giving out food boxes at the food bank, to litter picking around the Town Centre, and I’m so proud to be a part of the team that’s going to help develop even more great projects.”
Darlington-based Harvey & Hugo, which has provided social media support in kind to Darlington Cares for four years, is delighted to be part of the team which is going to help maximise the impact of firms’ corporate social responsibility.
“We are delighted to be working with Darlington Cares to build its brand. It’s a fantastic opportunity to help increase awareness of the wonderful things the organisation does in the town,” said Managing Director, Charlotte Nichols.
Seth said: “There is a strong desire amongst the business community to be good corporate citizens.
“We know it can be hard for business people to know how to channel this intention and how to generate the greatest impact and that’s where Darlington Cares comes in. Like-minded people coming together and developing a clear focus can be incredibly powerful!”
To find out more about Darlington Cares, its projects and volunteering opportunities, visit www.darlingtoncares.co.uk.
Twitter: @darlingtoncares and @harveyandhugo