Charity Raffle 2024

CELEBRATING 3 YEARS OF EDDIE HOWE AT NEWCASTLE UNITED

Eddie Howe has now marked three years as manager of Newcastle United. Here’s your opportunity to win a unique, signed prize from him—a perfect way to celebrate this remarkable chapter in the club’s history while supporting a local charity.

With every raffle ticket you purchase, you're not only entering for a chance to win an exciting and unique prize, but you're also extending a helping hand to St Benedict's Hospice. Join me in supporting this remarkable cause and let's bring comfort, care, and hope to those in need. 

Buy your raffle ticket(s) today and be a part of something truly special!

THE PRIZE

The approximately A3 size card is 2mm thick. It features a video game style photo of Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe that has been signed by the man himself.

HOW TO BUY A RAFFLE TICKET

A virtual raffle ticket can be bought by making a £5 donation to St. Benedict's Hospice via www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierunraffle2024.

Please make sure you leave your name (and email address behind the scenes when asked by Justgiving so I can contact the winner) when making your £5 per ticket required donation. 

Multiple donations of £5 will count for additional entries. So, for example, £10 will get you 2 entries. Please feel free to enter as many times as you like.

The raffle is open to anyone in the world. However, due to the valuable nature of the item, it can only be posted to a UK address. 

THE DRAW

The draw will be made at 8pm on the 29th November 2024 and the winner displayed on this page as well as rungeordierun.com and the Run Geordie Run social media channels. It will be sent to the lucky winner week commencing 2nd December 2024.

USA 2025 t-shirts now available

Over the years sales of Run Geordie Run t-shirts have raised almost £40,000 for good causes in the North East of England. Thanks to the goodwill of local businesses for paying for their production costs, EVERY PENNY from sales has been donated to charities such as St. Benedict's Hospice, The Children's Foundation, The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Useful Vision.

I'm excited to report that, thanks to further goodwill, this time from a very kind long time supporter of my running and also Doors and Floors Direct Limited, there is a Run Geordie Run USA 2025 t-shirt now available to order. I really can't thank them enough for paying for all production costs.

The four colour design is printed on the same technical fabric as previous Run Geordie Run t-shirts. They are ideal to wear in the gym, out running, on a walk or simply down the pub. They are available in sizes S, M, L, XL and XXL and are priced at £30. Postage to the UK is free.

T-shirts will be posted on 25th November 2024. To order yours, please complete the form below.

1) HOW TO ORDER 

a) Fill out the order form below. Yes, it's not very hi tech but it allows use of the JustGiving donation platform as the payment method which means all money goes securely and direct to St Benedict's Hospice. 

b) Pay the required amount using https://www.justgiving.com/page/rungeordierun2025. 

For example, one t-shirt posted to the UK will be £30.

Don't forget to leave you name at Justgiving. 

2) PRICE

£30 per t-shirt

3) POSTAGE PRICE

UK - Free

Rest of the world -  £12. (Only pay 1 postage amount for any number of t-shirts.) 

4) QUESTIONS

Please email any queries or questions to sponsorship@rungeordierun.com.

Run Geordie Run Leaflets proving their worth

The Run Geordie Run leaflet has continued to prove valuable in terms of getting the message out there and attracting donations. From using the last leaflets in 2018, I’d genuinely forgotten just how good a conversation starter they are (or an “ice breaker” as I called it in last week’s email). They are also really useful to leave with people when time for a lengthy conversation isn’t possible. 

I handed a few out leaflets at the match on Saturday. Pictured below are fellow season ticket holders Pam and Karen just before kick off. 

The beauty of the leaflet is the A3 map that is contained inside. It really helps to give the reader a sense of the size and scale of the 3200 mile route across the USA. Karen and her husband Alan are pictured below with the leaflet fully folded out.

Since I started handing out leaflets, I’m very proud to report that £255 has been donated to St. Benedict's Hospice via my JustGiving link. A huge thank you to everyone who has donated and to my main sponsor, Chapman Ventilation, for paying for the production of leaflets.

Run Geordie Run Leaflets Back On The Menu

Regular readers will know how important I feel that my leaflets are for spreading the word and raising awareness. These leaflets offer a concise and powerful way to communicate the purpose of my events, the charitable cause I support, and how people can get involved or donate. In a world where information is often fleeting, having something tangible to hand out ensures that my message sticks with people even after the conversation ends. 

The leaflets provide key details that might otherwise be forgotten, making it easier for people to follow up, support St. Benedict's Hospice, or share the story with others. I’m pleased to report that I now have 1000 Run Geordie Run USA 2025 leaflets in hand (minus a few that I handed out this weekend). I’m really pleased with the final printed result. As you can see from the images below, it’s a tribute-fold leaflet that opens out, revealing an A3 map of the route across the USA. 

A huge thank you goes to main sponsor Chapman Ventilation for paying for the production of the leaflets.

USA 2025 - A black and white send off?

I had contact from one of the Toon Army NYC branch this week. I’ve stayed in touch ever since I met him at the end of the 2011 USA run. It’s early days in terms of planning the send off but I think there will be a good black and white contingent at Coney Island. This will be brilliant from a personal point of view. 

Long term readers may remember that I had the company for the Toon Army NYC branch for the final 13 miles of the run across the USA in 2011. I look forward to being back on the boardwalk with them next year at Coney Island.

Run Geordie Run T-Shirts in the pipeline

I’m often asked when there will be a new Run Geordie Run t-shirt. Sales of various different designs have raised close to £40,000 over the years and it’s always been an excellent way of getting funds into St. Benedict's Hospice (and a host of other charities). I’m pleased to report that I have an initial design and will be reaching out to some local companies for quotes next week. If they come back as favourable (i.e. there is enough margin for a profit for St. Benedict's Hospice) then I’ll be taking up long term supporter, David Gateshill’s kind offer of paying for their production. 

If costs are deemed to high, then David will be paying the money direct to St. Benedict's Hospice anyway. While it’s an absolute win/win for the hospice, it would be nice to use t-shirt sales as a way of growing the charity fund. A huge thank you goes to David for his kind support. The initial draft design is below. 

The USA 2025 t-shirt design is very similar to the 2011 t-shirt that proved to be very popular.

Run Geordie Run Leaflets in the pipeline

The artwork files for the Run Geordie Run USA 2025 tri-fold leaflet have gone to the printer for checking. I’ve also asked one of my kind sponsors if they can settle the invoice. Hopefully, I’ll have 1000 of these important fundraising tools in my possession soon. I’m looking forward to getting back into the old routine of offering a leaflet to everyone I meet. 

It’s no exaggeration to say that the leaflets will dominate all of the contact I have with anybody, anywhere and at any time. They’ve always been so useful, before and during a big run, in being able to get a lot of information to people when I don’t have a lot of time to spend. They are also an important tool to have to hand to police, border control, the US embassy where I’ll be getting a visa next year to name but a few. 

I just did a search through my old tweets and there’s one from the 14th July 2016 that says “Croation border control not too interested in my passport but all over the Run Geordie Run across Europe leaflet.”. I don’t have a picture of that sadly, but I do remember handing one to a kind cafe owner soon after. 

If I see the same successful outcome with leaflets this time as I have done in the past then it’ll be money well spent. They have led to many charitable donations as well as discounts on supplies needed for the particular runs. I seem to recall getting a satellite phone rental in Australia at an extraordinarily good rate.  

One of my favourite images is the staff at my long term sponsor D-Line with the 2018 leaflet. I remember a good few quid being raised when I visited on that particular day.