The
Darlington Champions programme is run by local charity,
County Durham Foundation. The Foundation was
set up by local people for local people. It has been
providing grants for over 10 years now; to community
groups, small local charities, individuals and other
good causes. To find out more about the work County
Durham Foundation is doing outside of Darlington click
here.
Last
year the Foundation gave out £2.7m as 1254 grants,
one of which went to talented young artist Natalie
Gale.
Young
Artist Gains Place at Slade Art School
Following
in the footsteps of Antony Gormley, who also studied
at Slade, 24-year-old Natalie Gale from Seaham brushed
aside competition from more than 360 candidates from
across the UK to gain her place.
Having
painted from a very young age Natalie went to University
and gained a first class honours degree from the Wimbledon
School of Art. After leaving, her talents then took
her to Paris where she worked as a freelance artist’s
assistant.
The
only thing preventing Natalie from following in these
great footsteps was the £10,000 she needed to pay
for course fees and living costs in London. Despite
huge sacrifices on behalf on Natalie’s family she
still fell short of the £10,000 she needed.
Natalie
applied to the Foundation for help and fund holder
Guy Readman, chairman of Birtley-based Tor Coatings
Ltd, was happy to give Natalie the £2000 she
needed to secure her future.
Natalie sent in a
letter of thanks to Mr Readman:
"I
wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for the
generous gift of your grant but more so for believing
in me and investing in my future."
Read
other stories
Support Mark Lloyd's efforts to raise money for County
Durham Foundation
Durham
County Council's Chief Executive Officer, Mark Lloyd,
has recently taken up the challenge of fundraising
for County Durham Foundation. Mark is running the
London Marathon and needs your help to achieve his
fundraising target.
To
visit Mark's personal fundraising space and to make
a donation, clickhere.
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