Meet Mandy – the one who loves her whiteboard

Meet the team that helps businesses and individuals join together to make Teesside a better place in which to live, work and do business.

Mandy is The Teesside Charity’s events manager and has worked at the charity for almost eight years. Mandy organises a wide range of events from Skydiving to Golf days to the Annual Ball, all to raise funds for the charity. Mandy is great at persuading people to take part and join in, she’s our secret weapon.

What does the charity mean to you?

I love the fact that we help so many charities and community groups to support people who are most in need across Teesside. Although sometimes upsetting, it is nice to hear stories of how we make a difference to people’s lives, whether that is by sending them on a much-needed break in one of our caravans, buying beds for children or helping with a shopping voucher. 

What’s your most memorable moment at the charity?

The Annual Ball we held in 2018, we showed a film about sending a grandfather and his two grandsons away on their first holiday and what it meant to them. Although I had seen the film a dozen times beforehand, it still made me cry (plus the other 550 people in the room). We invited the grandfather along to the night, and he received a standing ovation from everyone in the room, it was very moving.

What’s your favourite Teesside Charity event and why?

The Great North Run, is always an amazing day, we are there all day and get to meet so many of our supporters and their families before and after the run. Diane and I are always there to cheer and give a big hug to the runners when they arrive back to the charity marquee.

Who is your hero?

I don’t have one specific hero. I admire so many people that I have come across over the past eight years at the charity, who work tirelessly, as volunteers, to make sure the most vulnerable people across our towns are taken care of. To name a few, Pat McBride of Cause Foundation and Brian and Stella Jones of The Moses Project.