Pitman Training make a difference by buying a Yak!

 

Almost 100 invited guests attended the first Best Secretary on Tyneside Award event earlier this month, organised by Pitman Training Newcastle. The winner was Julie Britt, PA to the CEO at NaREC.

Rather than simply host an awards event, Pitman Training decided to include a prize draw as part of the evening in aid of Save the Children.

“One of our personal development courses is called Go…Make A Difference and is about achieving important things in life,” explained Jill Stevens, Director of Pitman Training Newcastle. “Taking the ideas from this course, we decided to use the Best Secretary on Tyneside Award event to make a difference for people less well off than ourselves.”

Pitman Training Newcastle Director Dave Stevens worked in partnership with the charity and the event sponsors to amass a stunning range of prizes worth over £400. Prizes were donated by: ColourMeBeautiful North East, Planet, Virgin Vie, Swarovski, Pitman Training Newcastle and As You Like It (the venue for the evening). “Everyone was really generous, both in terms of donating prizes and in buying tickets,” enthused Jill Stevens,. “We raised over £200 for the charity, which is a fabulous achievement.”

The money raised will be used to buy a female hairy yak for villagers in Tibet. Marion Anderson, a volunteer from Save the Children North East spoke at the event and explained, “Yaks are helping to improve children's health and nutrition in rural Tibet. They provide nutritious milk, butter and wool for knitting. They’re also used for ploughing and as an essential means of transport.”

Last year, 102 female yaks bought through the charity’s Wish List were distributed between four Tibetan schools in the districts of Nyimo and Dashong. 1,200 children and 73 teachers are now benefiting from the nutritious milk and butter provided by the yaks.

“It’s great to think that not only did everyone have a great evening, but the Best Secretary on Tyneside event has helped, even in just a small way, to make a difference to children in Tibet,” concludes Jill Stevens.

For more information on how you can start to make a difference, call Jill at Pitman Training Newcastle on 0191 241 1122. To make a donation to Save the Children, go to www.savethechildren.org.uk/wishlist