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A major donation from the estate of the late Steve and Christine Convey has created a new fund at Community Foundation North East dedicated to helping people find pathways to opportunity and employment.
Steve and his brother Peter built Convey Bros from humble beginnings into a successful window cleaning business which still thrives today. Christine sadly died in December 2023 and, unfortunately, she had already endured not only the loss of her husband, Steve, but also their two sons Adam and Lee. Before they died, the Convey family lived in Darras Hall, Ponteland.
Following Christine’s death, the three executors of the family estate decided that the assets should be used to help others in the community have the chance to pursue a life of opportunity, especially those who have run into barriers in their lives.
Richard Roberts, the family’s solicitor and one of the executors to the Convey estate, said: “There can be no better memorial to Steve and Christine than the creation of the Convey Fund at Community Foundation North East. Every year, the Foundation, advised by Steve and Christine’s executors Peter Drummond, Ken Wood and I, will distribute grants to organisations supporting intervention work for children, young people, and young adults. The purpose is to broaden their horizons, provide new opportunities, and inspire them onto positive pathways.”
The donation from the estate has established the Steve and Christine Convey Fund at Community Foundation North East. The fund will provide support to community organisations in perpetuity with guidance from the executors of the estate. There will be support for young people in the Ponteland area to reflect where the Conveys lived, but also the broader Newcastle area and south east Northumberland.
In its first round of grants, the Fund has provided almost £150,000 to five organisations, including:
- Blyth Tall Ship, Northumberland
- NE Youth, across the North East
- North East Young Dads and Lads Project, across the North East
- Oswin Projects, Northumberland and Newcastle
- Projects4Change, Newcastle
Rob Williamson, CEO of Community Foundation North East said: “It is an honour for us to be working with the executors of Steve and Christine Convey’s estate to ensure that their legacy is one of real impact in the community. As an endowment fund at the Community Foundation, it will help people access the opportunities they need right now and for generations to come. What Steve and Christine achieved in their lifetime was inspirational and we know many more people in our area can realise that kind of entrepreneurial success give the opportunity – this fund is for them and the organisations offering the right support.”