The North East’s first ever charity web-build event has transformed the websites of six local charities, helping them to reach out to the digital generation.

The Webdurance event, organised by local entrepreneurs, brothers Paul and David King, saw talented individuals come together to rebuild the websites of the chosen charities over just 24 hours.

On 15 July, 40 volunteer web developers worked through the night to improve the sites of The Children’s Foundation, Whoops Child Safety Project, Tynemouth Blind Society, Azure Charitable Enterprises, Key Enterprises, Children North East and Meadow Well Connected.

Colette Hume, a Sunderland University volunteer said the atmosphere at the event was great.

“People are swapping ideas and know how. There is a real buzz about the event and it’s going really well“, she said.

Promoting the region

The unique idea came about when Paul and David, co-directors of internet software company 1DayLater.com, decided to utilise their business know-how to help struggling charities.

“Charities are, for the most part, managed by very passionate and exceptional people who are usually non-technical,” Paul said.

“By providing each charity with advice and mentoring on how to maintain their new and improved websites after the event, we hope to extend the lifespan of these charities and their activities.”

Due to this year’s success, 1DayLater.com is planning to make Webdurance an annual occurrence, aiming to promote the North East and the business potential and technical talent in the region.

Bernie Callaghan, CEO of Sunderland Software City – one of the event sponsors – said the company was delighted to be involved in supporting Webdurance.

“Our aim is to develop the software industry throughout the North East region,” he said.

“The fact that this initiative not only involved local developers and designers but was also conceived and managed by local software entrepreneurs, demonstrates the talent, creativity and drive that abound in the North East.”