Saks in Park View Shopping Centre have held a special evening to launch their programme of fundraising for Motor Neuone Disease. Specifically the fund has been set up in tribute to Mark Taylor, a member of the victorious Whitley Bay FC team which lifted the FA Vase at Wembley in May last year. But since then he has been given the devastating news he has the debilitating Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Some of Mark's family - his wife, Mum and sister -  get their hair done at the popular salon, so for Margaret Cassidy, co-owner of Saks in Whitley Bay, it was an obvious choice. She said: “We wanted to help a local charity and one day Mark’s sister was in the salon and told us about Mark.

“Motor Neurone Disease (MND) does not really get a lot of awareness and because some of the family come to the salon we decided we would fundraise for the MND Association.

“We decided to organise a pampering session for his family. Visitors to the salon also enjoyed food and a disco.

  Pictured is Mark Taylor's wife Faye, with Saks Charlette Harris

Rosie McEwan, aged 8, was the lucky winner of the colouring competition, and won 4 tickets for the Cinderella Panto at the Playhouse.

The Whitley Bay Rotary Club provided Santa at the shopping centre in the lead up to Christmas, and ran colouring competitions and invited the children to write a letter to Santa.

The charity was working with Park View Shopping Centre to raise money for the Rainbow Trust and raised over £300 from their time collecting in the centre.

One piece is the full height of the mall, and a colourful portrayal of the St Mary’s Lighthouse, whilst the other is in the stairwell, and shows scenes of Whitley Bay landmarks.

Chris has had studio space at North Tyneside Art Studio for a number of years. The Studio is a charity providing support for people in North Tyneside who are experiencing a wide range of mental health problems. They offer access to studio space and the guidance of professional artists and volunteers, providing the opportunity for people to develop personal and creative strengths within a supportive and culturally active environment.

Now Danielle has taken on a challenge to keep Megan’s memory alive and to raise funds for the charity. She and seven friends and colleagues did the C2C cycle ride and  smashed through their original fundraising target.

Danielle said, “This was a challenge my sister-in-law Jane Rue came up with, and we all thought it was a great idea. We’ve trained for two months and were fundraising all the time as well, so whilst we originally aimed for £1,000, we went way past that, which is great news!” She added, “the money raised will go towards helping Tiny Lives as they work hard to support families with young babies that need support and help in many different ways.”

Whilst most of the eight cyclists were friends or family, including Jane who suggested the challenge, support came from the shopping centre too. Helen George, aged 64, is a regular customer at Tea in the Park, and jumped at the chance to join in. A sporting enthusiast, Helen is an archery coach for the Paralympics Games and a regular cyclist.

Steve Seymour, Acting Centre Manager at Park View Shopping Centre, also volunteered, and commented, “I thought that this was an excellent cause to support, so volunteered straight away. Danielle is an enthusiastic advocate of all that Tiny Lives do, and there are certificates in the tea rooms, which show how much they have done to support Tiny Lives over the years. This is obviously a major fundraising effort, and I wanted to do more than just sponsor the team, so joined in and managed to raise money too!”

Andrea Atkinson, Fundraising Manager for Tiny Lives, said, “We are dependent on supporters such as Danielle for much of our funding, so are delighted she and her team have made such a big effort on our behalf. We wish them every success in the cycle ride at the weekend, and their efforts will go to help Tiny Lives support more families in a positive way.”

Sponsors can still visit www.tinylives.org.uk or pledge support by ringing 0191 222 0945.