Newcastle Falcons team up to support local South Shields business

Newcastle Falcons stars have come together to show their support for South Shields family entertainment centre, The Dunes, as it prepares to throw opens its doors once again and welcome back families for more fun-filled days after its toughest ever year.

Captain Mark Wilson and current Scotland international Gary Graham were joined by former England fly half Toby Flood to engage virtually with employees and showcase some of the facilities at The Dunes, with the players putting the ten-pin bowling equipment through its paces on the pitch at Kingston Park.

Through its UK-wide initiative - ‘Tackling Tomorrow Together’, insurance broker and risk management specialist Gallagher, the title partner of Premiership Rugby, is bringing to life and promoting the stories of six UK businesses and a regional children’s charity that have shown real resilience, tenacity and pioneering spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the campaign, The Dunes was paired with the North East’s top rugby union club, Newcastle Falcons, to help give the firm an extra boost during after an exceedingly tough year.

As a leisure facility and due to government restrictions, The Dunes was forced to close the doors on its giant soft play area, bowling alley and amusement arcade back in March 2020, with extremely limited opportunities to open since.

When they were able to open temporarily last August, Dunes demonstrated their resilience and ability to adapt by installing COVID-19 control measures such as safety screens and hand sanitiser stations throughout the building to keep staff and customers safe, costing them thousands of pounds at a challenging financial time.

This month the Dunes is set to open again after the latest lockdown. In the interim, Gallagher has been assisting with its business continuity plans and shaping a robust insurance and risk management approach to help the business transition out of lockdown and towards normal trading conditions.

We spoke to Toby Flood following the announcement:

Why is Toby getting involved, and what will he be doing?

We’re hoping to help raise awareness of who Dunes are as a business. We’ve learnt about how they are a local, family-run here in the North East, how they’ve been impacted over the past year and the adaptations they’ve had to make to ensure their staff and customers feel safe for when re-opening happens.

Is it an extra-special feeling to help out a local business?

It’s always nice to be able to help a local business out, and it’s great that Gallagher are giving Dunes additional support and exposure ahead of their re-opening in May. Covid restrictions unfortunately meant we weren’t able to visit Dunes Adventure Island, but it will be great to get down there once those restrictions have lifted, and we’ll hopefully see the guys from Dunes at a game here in the near future.

What difference does the initiative make to the business and the surrounding community?

It is great to be supporting local businesses through Gallagher’s ‘Tackling Tomorrow. Together’ campaign, and as a club we are happy to be helping Gallagher in their support for Dunes.

Dunes Entertainment is local to Newcastle Falcons and we’re glad we can be involved and help a local business increase their exposure, be able to support them in their plans to re-open following lockdown.

All businesses have been affected by the lockdown restrictions but raising the awareness of how they have been impacted in different ways brings us together and provides a feeling of unity as the lockdown restrictions ease.

And on fans, how has it been without spectators? And what difference will it make to both the action on the pitch and off it when it comes to this partnership?

It’s been odd. The impact fans create when they’re in the stadium is more apparent when nobody is there – so to have fans back is really important to us. It will be surreal when fans do return, though, as empty stadiums have become the new norm.

Thanks to Gallagher’s Tackling Tomorrow. Together campaign, The Dunes will be promoted on match day at Newcastle Falcons when COVID allows, with the local business benefiting from increased exposure off the back of the in-stadium advertising. Employees from the business will also have the chance to attend a game to support Mark, Gary, and Toby from the stands.

Kenneth Reader, Managing Director of The Dunes, said:

“When we closed our doors last March, we had no idea when we would be able to open again. The last 12 months have been the toughest ever for The Dunes as we have had very little opportunity to trade even during our usually packed summer months.

“The whole team is super excited at the prospect of finally throwing back open our doors this month to welcome in families and friends for some much-needed fun, and we’re grateful for the ongoing support Gallagher has provided us throughout this tricky situation.

"It was great to see the Newcastle Falcons players getting stuck in with some of our facilities and we look forward to being able to watch the team play at Kingston Park in the not-too-distant future.”

Michael Rea, Chief Executive of Gallagher’s UK Retail Division, commented:

“As a local insurance broker, Gallagher is working around the clock with UK businesses – large and small – to help them navigate the challenges and evolving risks that have arisen from the tough trading conditions of the past 12 months.

“Businesses have been left grappling with lockdowns, changes to their insurance requirements, and understanding new risk exposures, with many being forced to quickly adapt their offering or diversify their business model in response to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions.

“It has been incredible to see the optimism and tenacity of some of these businesses and we wanted to take a moment to champion and recognise both the challenges and opportunities presented during an extraordinary period through our ‘Tackling Tomorrow. Together’ initiative.”

In addition to the rugby-related package, Gallagher will continue to offer specialist broking advice and support to the organisation.

Visit ajg.com/tackling-tomorrow-together for more information on this initiative.