As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, staff at North-Tyneside based Carney Consultancy and its sister company, Carney CDM, are putting their best foot forward for this year’s Great North Run.
The team is aiming to raise £3,000 for the construction sector by supporting the North East branch of the Lighthouse Club Construction Charity.
Operating nationally, its first branch was established in 1976 in the North East, the Lighthouse Club delivers charitable support to the construction sector across the UK and is the only charity that provides emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support to construction workers and their families. It receives no public funding and relies on the generosity of those within the industry to help it continue its vital work.
Taking part in the Great North Run are Angela Carney, managing director at Carney Consultancy and director at Carney CDM, her partner, Dave Carney, Caroline Morton, director at Carney CDM, Martin Crammond, director at Carney Consultancy and Carney CDM and his partner, Rebecca White, Hafsa Ghaffar and Ethan Armstrong, business administrator apprentices, Kerry Benson, health and safety assistant and Jamie Clark, health and safety advisor at Carney Consultancy.
Also joining the Carney team are Carl Gilbert, construction site manager at STP Construction and John Heslop, HM inspector of health and safety at the Health and Safety Executive.
Carney Consultancy was established in 2002 by managing director, Angela Carney, as a specialist health, safety, environmental and quality consultancy and training provider for the construction and engineering sectors.
Carney CDM was launched in 2022, and provides services in line with the CDM Regulations 2015 and comprises of Caroline Morton alongside directors Angela Carney, David Wadds and Martin Crammond.
Angela Carney, said: “The Lighthouse Club supports those in the frontline. The trades don’t get as near enough recognition as the professionals and that is why it is so important to support them.
“The charity provides emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support to construction workers and their families, relying on the generosity of those within the industry. This is something that I am very passionate about. So much so, that this year, I launched a mental health initiative, ‘Come on Lads Let’s Talk.’
“It is a mental health awareness programme to support the wellbeing of men in construction, the sector with the highest number of male suicides, year on year. We offer face-to-face, online, telephone and ‘walk and talk’ counselling or therapy with trained professionals, with the first six sessions paid for by Carney Consultancy.
“The more we can do to help construction workers the better. We have already raised £1,500 for the Lighthouse Club and we are well on our way to our target of £3,000. In terms of the Great North Run, we have team members of mixed abilities. Some will be looking to break personal best performances while others will be soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the day.”
Sarah Sidey, chair of the Lighthouse Club in the North East, said: “The charity relies on charitable giving, fundraising and firms that work or are connected to the construction industry, signing up as a company supporter. We’ve started to see some real momentum in the North East.
“The message is strong and clear; we need to remove the stigma around people talking about their feelings and creating an environment where everyone feels comfortable to be themselves. The statistics regarding wellbeing for the construction industry are heart-breaking. Every single working day in the UK, two construction workers take their own life.
“2.4 million days are lost through injury or illness, so we all need to be accountable and be part of the solution to drive change and have a positive impact on the local communities we work with. We can all make a difference as individuals and within our own organisations, but imagine what could be achieved if we worked as a collective.”