A team of employees at ScS have raised £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support by completing a 100-mile walking challenge, including the entire 84 miles of Hadrian’s Wall and a further 16 miles completing a coast-to-coast walk, to finish at the company’s Sunderland store, on Borough Road.
Fighting cancer is one of the biggest battles that some of us may have to face. This battle is a very real and personal one to our HR team, with three members of the team fighting and surviving cancer.
To celebrate reaching 100 stores nationwide, and to say a big thank you to the local communities who have supported us on our journey from one local store in Sunderland to a leading UK sofa and carpet specialist, we have launched a £10,000 fund to help shine a light on hardworking causes within local communities nationwide.
The Great North Snowdog’s trail has finally come to an end, and we were very proud to have been part of a hugely successful campaign that raised much needed funds and awareness for St Oswald’s Children’s Hospice.
We’re very proud to announce that our employees have raised £20,000 for Leicester Children’s Hospital through a variety of fundraising activities as part of its annual awards and recognition night, which took place at the King Power Stadium in Leicester.
The Great North Snowdogs’ trail is now three weeks in, and we hope you’ve been to the Angel of the North to see our very own Snowdog – Dog on the Tyne.
ScS News
We teamed up with Gateshead based primary school to celebrate the Great North Snowdogs’ launch
To celebrate the launch of Great North Snowdogs trail and our sponsorship of Dog on the Tyne (@DogOnTheTyne) we invited children from Fell Dyke Community Primary School in Gateshead to be among the first to meet DonTy and carry out a special task.
We are one of many companies sponsoring a Snowdog to help raise vital funds for St Oswald’s Children’s Hospice, and we’ve already made him one of the family – giving him a pet name ‘DonTy’, as an acronym of his registered name.
The primary school children (aged between 4 and 11) met DonTy in his prize location of the famous Angel of the North, and while they were there undertook the special task of awarding him with a medal for being such a ‘paw-some’ Snowdog. They were also lucky enough to take home a special gift from DonTy, each receiving a ‘doggy bag’ filled full of treats for them to enjoy when they got home, including their very own medal to remember the event by.
Rachel Heslop, reception teacher and early years lead at Fell Dyke Community Primary School said: “The children at Fell Dyke were incredibly excited to be invited to present DonTy with a medal and hear about the great work that Snowdogs is carrying out across the region. The children are huge fans of DonTy and will certainly be visiting him again.”
The first lucky 2,000 people to visit DonTy and unlock his location on the Great North Snowdogs app are being rewarded with a Dog on the Tyne commemorative medal, available for collection from ScS stores at the Team Valley or Metro Centre Retail Parks.
Vicki Burns, PR &Communications Executive at ScS, said: “As a sponsor we wanted to mark the official launch of the trail, by saying thanks to DonTy’s fans in the local community.
“We know children will love the excitement of discovering the Snowdogs and seeing each one’s individual design and markings which is why we wanted to invite the school along to see and hear more about his design. It was great to see how much fun they had presenting DonTy with his special medal and watching their faces as they saw him for the first time. We hope other children, local people and his canine pals will enjoy meeting him over the next 10 weeks just as much as the pupils of Fell Dyke Community Primary School did.”
We have been lucky enough to work with well-known scenic artist Jane Headford, from Dartura Art and Design in Holmfirth, to bring DonTy’s character to life. Dog on the Tyne’s design pays tribute to the North East’s architecture and heritage, featuring an array of iconic locations including the Tyne Bridge, Grey’s Monument and the Angel of the North itself.
From employees to customers, people nationwide have been saying YES to ScS since 1894, and here are 10 reasons why:
The Great North Snowdogs‘ trail begins on Monday (19th September) and we can finally reveal all you need to know about our amazing Snowdog.
First and foremost, we are delighted to announce that Dog on the Tyne (DonTy), our Snowdog will be located at the Angel of the North in Gateshead. The Angel, which was designed by Sir Anthony Gormley and completed in 1998, has become Gateshead’s most prominent tourist attraction and is a haven for dog walkers, so make sure you bring your pooch along to meet our top dog.
With the location playing a key part in DonTy’s design, he proudly wears the Angel of the North around his neck as a scarf to keep him warm during cold nights throughout the trail.
Dog on the Tyne also incorporates a number of the most iconic landmarks around the North East, such as Greys’ Monument, the Tyne Bridge and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, many of which you will see if you take part in the Snowdogs tour this autumn.
The Great North Snowdog’s official launch event will take place on the 19th September and the event is open to the public. Many of the sponsors, including ScS, will be doing something special at their Snowdog’s locaton, so make sure you come and see Dog on the Tyne, and bring your family along, as there will be plenty of treats for the kids to enjoy.
To celebrate sponsoring Dog on the Tyne, we will be giving out medals in stores at Team Valley Retail Park and Gateshead Metro Centre to children who have been to see the dog.
Qualifying for a medal is easy. All you have to do is download the Great North Snowdogs’ app on iPhone or Android, and check in when you visit DonTy. Once you’ve checked in, call into any of the ScS stores listed above, show a member of staff that you’ve checked in and your little one will be able to collect a shiny, gold medal!
Along with this, we’ll be running a competition through social media, so if you’re not already following DonTy on Twitter (@DogOnTheTyne) and Instagram (dogonthetyne), do it now!
The Great North Snowdogs trail will run from the 19th September to the 29th of November. That gives you ten weeks to visit all 60 Snowdogs, or you could do the 98 mile round trip in one very busy afternoon.
You can see the full list of businesses that have sponsored a dog here, along with the location of their Snowdog.
In our last blog, we introduced you to Jane Headford – our Dog on the Tyne artist, and with The Great North Snowdogs Trail starting in just over two weeks’ time (19th September), DonTy is complete!