We speak to some of the award winners at the Best of South Tyneside Awards 2024
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00:00Oh my god, this is so amazing for Community Corner. We've worked so hard for the last 10 years.
00:07For our team and our supporters it's just going to be a massive boost, a massive, massive boost.
00:12This just might keep us going.
00:14So we sell second-hand items that are obviously kindly donated by the public
00:18and then with the money we raise we'll give it away to people in South Tyneside who need it most.
00:23Very important. We try to engage with the community as much as we can.
00:28A lot of the apprentices are all from South Tyneside.
00:31It's a great honour, yes. Very happy.
00:33For me it's about consume nothing as a business.
00:38So it starts with energy for us, so solar, electric vehicles, intelligent charging, battery storage
00:49and then transmitting that message to our customer base as well.
00:52And along with everything we do we're fortunate enough that
00:57we don't manufacture, so everything is electronic for us.
01:01So passing that to the customer as well and letting them understand their choice in technology.
01:07Because I lived, eat, sleep, breathe it myself, like I love training
01:10and I know how it makes us feel that I just wanted to put that in everybody in our town
01:15and furthermore as well.
01:17So I rented gyms and stuff like that.
01:19In lockdown I've done everything on Zoom in my back garden
01:23and then I started renting a unit out of an industrial estate in Hebbin.
01:29And then from there we've got KW Explorers where I take women on hikes.
01:32We go to the Lake District, we do sunrise workouts, we do beach events.
01:36We've got a KW Teens class that's also funded by South Tyneside Youth Service.
01:41And then off the back end of that I've just got a new young lad working for us, Luke.
01:45So I've started opening up to lads as well, but lads only.
01:49So we'll do a teen boys class as well.
01:51And then I've just pushed for funding for that.
01:53So we've got funding for that from South Tyneside Youth Service as well.
01:56So the business just keeps growing as a whole,
01:58but overall I'm just wanting to flood South Tyneside with a feeling of goodness,
02:04like just to give women confidence
02:06and to give them a safe space to come and train with their children as well.
02:09Like he's already won this exact same thing,
02:13but I've never actually sold it, like, how marvellous.
02:17To be honest with you, he's always been a star in my eyes since the day he was born
02:22and he was diagnosed with that chromosome 8p.
02:26He's just astounded me as well as everybody who knows him.
02:31So I don't know what else to say really, to be honest with you.
02:35I'm just so surprised.
02:3762nd award, isn't it?
02:40Little man.
02:42They're going to look this way to the camera.
02:44It feels unbelievable because she's come such a long way
02:49since a birth defect and stuff like that.
02:52And from a foot amputation of two years old to,
02:55I can't pronounce the other things basically,
02:58but recently up there, like about a month and a half ago now,
03:03she had the biggest seven-hour surgery ever
03:05to basically straighten her femur and her leg and stuff like that.
03:09And it just amazes us how strong she is every single time.
03:14She just comes out the surgery and after two or three days,
03:17she's back to her normal little self.
03:19And it's just overwhelming for me and her mum, you know.
03:22It's just, we're just so proud of her, how far she's come
03:25and we're so chuffed to bits that she's getting this.
03:28Daddy, guess what?
03:29What?
03:30I've got my bra skirt on.
03:32You have got your bra skirt on.
03:34She means she's got a cast off her leg
03:36because she had a waist cast on for this surgery
03:39and they're all down one side of your body, didn't you?
03:41For about six weeks.
03:43And it was a pain in the bum, wasn't it?
03:45But you got it off, didn't you eventually?
03:47And she's all doing good and that.
03:48Like, so she's got a lot of more procedures to come,
03:52like, but the next one's like probably six months or a year's time.
03:55But it's a long, long process basically.
03:58But hopefully the goal is,
04:00is so she can walk like most other children every day,
04:04like our other children we have
04:05and all the other boys and girls in the world
04:07that get to run around and play,
04:09where she goes to nursery every day
04:12and she has just as much fun,
04:13but she has to crawl everywhere at three, nearly four years old.
04:16But hopefully we're going to get,
04:18we're going to get your legs soon, aren't we?
04:19And learn to walk, aren't we?
04:21Yeah.
04:21Yeah.
04:22I think the pups are going to help me all by then.
04:27Yeah, she loves Paw Patrol,
04:29the pups are going to help her as well,
04:30and the Paw Patrol pups.
04:31And Ryder.
04:32And Ryder as well, yeah, and Ryder.
04:35My heart's been racing all night and hearing my name,
04:37it's just blown out my mind.
04:39I've been in the cadets 96 years now.
04:42I started off as a junior.
04:44As soon as I turned 12, I went to sea cadets.
04:46Then as soon as I turned 13, I joined the marines.
04:49And it's been what an experience.
04:51I've went up four ranks in that time.
04:54I'm now one of the second highest in the unit,
04:56going for sergeant next year.
04:58Absolutely delighted to be presenting the award tonight
05:01to the sea cadets in South Shields.
05:03Bearing in mind my father was a merchant seaman,
05:05and I am absolutely delighted to be presenting the award.
05:08They do an absolutely sterling job
05:10and a huge well done for everybody.
05:12So you're accepting this award on behalf of Penny.
05:14Can you tell me a little bit about Penny
05:16and also what you do and how you do it?
05:19Yeah, so I direct Penny for the school shows.
05:21She often gets like the lead roles
05:23because she's a wonderfully, wonderfully talented person.
05:26Her singing is just exceptional.
05:27She can dance, she can act.
05:29She's a real all-rounder.
05:30Well, I feel really over the moon.
05:33I can't really believe it, to be honest, you know.
05:35What he has given to South Tyneside over decades
05:38has been absolutely phenomenal.
05:40And I did go in the word a few weeks ago.
05:41Eddie didn't see me,
05:43but he was actually playing chess
05:45with other people across the table.
05:47Eddie, thank you so, so much for your commitment,
05:50your loyalty and your dedication
05:52to the people of South Tyneside.
05:53You do an absolutely sterling job.
05:56And this isn't about the lifetime of 25 years.
05:58It is beyond.
05:59So thank you, Eddie.
06:00I've got another 25 to go yet.
06:02Absolutely.
06:03Actually speechless, which isn't normally me.
06:06Just blown away.
06:06Even just being nominated,
06:08considering how good the other people are
06:10and just the quality of people in there
06:13who support South Tyneside.
06:14So to be classed as an unsung hero is just, yeah.
06:19I'm trying not to cry to be fair, so.
06:22You guys dressed up as Santa
06:24and I'm his little elf.
06:26So, yeah, so just, it's just one of them things that
06:30it's grown arms and legs.
06:3214 years from the front of his house.
06:34Now the display is about 70, 80 foot long
06:37and it's just, just magical Christmas.
06:40And to be honest with you,
06:41I didn't expect that one.
06:42And even just trying to hold back the tears now,
06:44it's, I'm a proud sand dancer.
06:46So, you know, just I do a lot for South Tyneside,
06:51for South Shields.
06:51It's where I'm from.
06:53I'm proud of that fact.
06:54I'm full of amazing people, as you can see in that room.
06:58So to get that sort of a recognition is just,
07:01that's blown me away.
07:02I'm, yeah, just superb.
07:04And can you tell me a little bit more
07:06about the Red Bench Project?
07:07The Red Bench Project is suicide prevention.
07:10It's basically, we're trying to get benches
07:12in suicide hotspots to try and save lives.
07:16Whether that's where somebody takes five minutes
07:18just to calm down
07:19or whether it's to get help then and there
07:20ringing the Samaritans to find help, support.
07:24Yeah, it started off as one bench
07:27with the help of Tracy Dixon, the council leader.
07:30And from that, we've expanded.
07:32We've got one at Thirst and Outdoor Activity Centre.
07:35We're getting them all over the region.
07:37We've had interest from all over the UK, to be fair.
07:40He is committed to South Tyneside and to support others.
07:43And he is absolutely in awe of what's happened tonight
07:46and a very, very welcome reward for Wayne.