Royal recognition for charity champion Viv

Viv Watts, chief executive of Hope 4 Kidz, has been awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) after raising millions of pounds for needy people and good causes in the city since 1977.

Hope 4 Kidz was established with the aim of giving children and young people a sense of hope for their future – supporting youngsters who require extra care, whether suffering from a physical or mental disability, living with a serious or prolonged illness, or in need of respite from poverty or abuse.

Hope 4 Kidz is also the Sunderland Echo and sister paper the Shields Gazette’s partner in the newspapers’ annual Christmas and Easter appeals.

Since the Easter appeal started 14 years ago, nearly 35,000 children have received Easter eggs, valued at over £112,000, and the Christmas toy appeal supplies around £30,000 worth of toys to needy youngsters every year.

Viv first started raising money for local causes in 1977 – by running fundraising parties at care homes.

Four years later – and while running her own bridal and lingerie business in the city – Viv took over the city’s Mecca Ballroom and brought together 1,500 people for a fashion show to support the Grindon Hall Appeal, supporting adults with special needs to live independently.

Since then, she has raised a staggering £6m for good causes in the area.

She said: “The Mecca event was when I first realised the difference that can be made getting people in the community involved in supporting people who need help.”

Since then, Viv’s fundraising efforts include helping raised over £210,000 for a scanner at Sunderland Royal Hospital in1989, raising funds for the Cancer Research STEM Cell Appeal, respite holidays for children with special needs and a paediatric scanner for Sunderland Royal Hospital.

She also organised a open air concert for 10,000 people – starring Ronan Keating – to raise cash to support free family fun days, themed parties for children with special needs and a Christmas Party every year.

Viv co-founded Hope 4 Kidz with the late Brian Dodds in 2007 and she promised him she would keep the charity running after his passing in 2019.

Even having a stroke in 2023 didn’t stop Viv delivering on that promise and, thanks to the Stroke Teams at Sunderland Royal Hospital, she was able to completed the charity’s Coronation Garden project at Pennywell community Centre – creating it with the help of children from three schools, Springboard – which support unemployed people improve their job prospects, autism support charity ESPA and local volunteers.

It has a sensory area, flowers and bench to sit on – with the vegetable patches used to create meals for people in the community on low incomes.

She said: “I continued to be involved with the charities as I like to give back to the community for the good life I have at home with my hubby of 51 years, Ron, and daughter, son in law and grandson.

"I feel very humbled to have been nominated for this award but very proud of the recognition it brings for Hope 4 Kidz and the work it does."

She added: “I enjoy meeting the beneficiaries and seeing the children happy at the events we organise and I aim to keep showing children that there is also hope, even on the darkest of days.”