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Entrepreneur Andy Alderson has committed £100,000 to help create new opportunities across the North East, launching a £150,000 North East Roots Challenge and calling on other successful people with roots in the region to join him.
Andy, who grew up in Benton, Newcastle, joins Community Foundation North East’s growing network of North East Roots Ambassadors with an initial £50,000 donation to support grassroots charities and community organisations across the region. He is now challenging his network of friends, colleagues and fellow business leaders to match that with a further £50,000. Once that target is reached, Andy will unlock a further £50,000, creating a potential £150,000 for the North East Roots Fund.
The challenge forms part of Community Foundation North East’s wider North East Roots campaign, which is aiming to raise more than £1 million and is already approaching the halfway mark.
The announcement accompanies the release of a new North East Roots film, which follows Andy’s journey from growing up in Benton, leaving school with no qualifications and starting as an apprentice at Greggs, to founding Vanarama and building it into one of the UK’s leading vehicle leasing businesses, eventually selling it in a nine-figure deal.
Throughout the film, Andy reflects on the people who believed in him, the opportunities and “leg up” he was given, and why he now wants to help create those same opportunities for others.
Andy said:
“Everything I’ve achieved started with the opportunities I was given here in the North East. I was lucky enough to have people who believed in me when I needed it most, and looking back I know none of us really build anything alone.
This challenge is my way of giving something back to the region I’m proud to be from and the place that shaped me. I’m committing an initial £50,000 and I hope others in my network will join me by matching it. When we get there, I’ll put in another £50,000 because I know first-hand just how much opportunity can change someone’s life.”
As an Ambassador, the money Andy raises will go to the North East Roots Fund, directing funding towards building pathways to opportunity for people across the region who need them most. The fund supports organisations and programmes focused on tackling poverty upstream by boosting access to economic opportunity at every stage of life.
Michael Heppell, Chair of the North East Roots Ambassadors, said:
“Andy has always been incredibly proud of his North East roots. What makes this so special isn’t simply the generosity of his gift, it’s the invitation he’s extending to others to give back too. He’s leading by example, showing how becoming a North East Roots Ambassador can be an opportunity to invest in the people and communities that helped shape who you are. That’s exactly what North East Roots is all about.”
The North East Roots network brings together people with strong connections to the region who want to help create opportunities for future generations through philanthropy and collective giving.
John Hollingsworth, Chief Philanthropy and Development Officer at Community Foundation North East, said:
“Andy understands that success doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens because communities, families, teachers, employers and organisations invest in people along the way. His generosity, combined with this challenge to his network, will create a lasting legacy for communities across the North East.
We know Andy’s story inspires others who have benefited from living, working or growing up in the North East to think about how they can give something back.”
The new ‘North East Roots: Andy Alderson’ film is released today and tells the story behind Andy’s remarkable journey, culminating in his decision to give back to the region that gave him his start.
To find out more about the North East Roots Challenge, becoming a North East Roots Ambassador or supporting Community Foundation North East, visit our North East Roots website.