Many of us are, once again, enjoying watching top-level sport this summer and Sport Newcastle is helping ensure the North East’s abundance of sporting talent has the opportunity to progress to the world’s most prestigious competitions, this year and for years to come.
For more than 50 years, the charity has been supporting athletes throughout the region to higher levels of achievement and encouraging more local young people to enjoy and participate in grass roots sports.
Recognising the difference it makes in the lives of dedicated young athletes, office technology company, SOS Group, has supported Sport Newcastle for the last five years.
Now, the Team Valley-based firm has not only made a donation of £2,500 to help the charity’s ongoing work, company director John Behan has accepted a role as a commercial ambassador within it.
This summer, SOS Group is a sponsor of the annual Sport Newcastle Golf Day and, next year, it will be a sponsor of their hugely popular gala dinner and awards night.
John says: “We love being part of the Sport Newcastle team and I’m proud to have been asked to take on an ambassadorial role at the charity. I’ve been passionate about sport my whole life, both as a player and a coach, and I know it can truly change lives for the better.
“Sport is something that attracts people from all walks of life and there should be no barriers to achieving success. Quite simply, if you have the ability and commitment, you should also have the opportunities to progress. Sport Newcastle helps ensure that is the case for local sporting talent and we all want to see them succeed.”
This summer, athletes supported by Sport Newcastle have travelled to Poland for the World Para Athletics European Championships and others will be competing in the England Athletics National Championships later this month.
Mike Booth, vice chair of Sport Newcastle, says: “We’re delighted that SOS Group have agreed to continue their support of Sport Newcastle. Over the last few years, they have consistently supported our Annual Awards Dinner and Golf Day and have promoted our cause in the local business community.
“Having a sponsor that has a genuine commitment to supporting local amateur sport matches our ideals perfectly. The last year has been particularly hard on local sports clubs and the financial support from SOS Group will be used to help them recover.”
SOS Group provides office technology support for clients ranging from local start-ups to the IAAF World Athletics Championships. They pride themselves on their community involvement and have donated more than £250,000 to support charities, talented young individuals and community organisations since they set out in business.
SOS Group supplies and maintains leading brand digital office equipment. As well as offering a full range of office management services, including unified communications, IT support, document management, cost consultation and managed print services.
In 2020 they were proud to receive Community Business of The Year at the Federation of Small Business Awards in recognition of their work and were highly commended in the North East Charity Awards 2020.