A partnership between Darlington Building Society and Yarm School is set to benefit a local Darlington based charity, providing it with a potential windfall of up to £7,000.

The 700 Club, a charitable organisation that provides temporary accommodation and support services to vulnerable people who are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless and/or are in a condition of need, hardship or distress, was chosen by Darlington Building Society chief executive, Colin Fyfe, following a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style challenge to members of Yarm School’s “apprentice” group. Two teams of students made a pitch to Fyfe who eventually selected the 700 Club.

The students were challenged by Fyfe to convince him that their chosen charity should be the beneficiary of the Society’s next affinity mortgage product. The Society’s affinity mortgage range has proved popular over the past few years with beneficiary partners including the Great North Air Ambulance Service, The Durham Light Infantry Memorial Appeal, Age UK Darlington and the Trinity Holistic Centre at James Cook Hospital.

For every mortgage that proceeds to completion, Darlington Building Society pays the beneficiary charity the sum of £250. The new affinity mortgage product has just been launched and John Elliston, chief executive of the 700 Club, has confirmed that all funds received will be used to help fund The Lodge, a 700 Club initiative designed to combat homelessness, located on Victoria Road, Darlington.

The Lodge opened in 2013 and provides short term transitional housing for those with nowhere else to go. The project offers safe, high quality, accommodation, and a skilled staff team accustomed to responding to the range of complex issues that often run alongside homelessness, eg. drugs or alcohol misuse, mental health problems. For lives in chaos, the Lodge offers stability, a place for people to start making positive life choices. It is part of a network of 700 Club services which enable people to work their way through homelessness and into independent living.

Sheena Hunter, Darlington district manager for Darlington Building Society, said: “The Lodge is a wonderful facility in Darlington and helps many vulnerable people. We are pleased to be able to offer a very attractive affinity mortgage designed to provide The Lodge with some much needed additional funding.”

Elliston added: “The Lodge is open 24/7 for those in housing need. We are delighted to be able to speak of it as not just a 700 Club project, but as a Yarm School and a Darlington Building Society project too. Working together we can make a difference.”