North East hospice gets a helping hand from Jonathan

A Newcastle teenager whose online business has turned over more than £100,000 is now giving something back to the community by announcing a partnership with his local hospice.

After successfully establishing the forfree4u.co.uk network of websites, 17-year-old Jonathan Grubin, who is from Gosforth, today announces that St Oswald’s Hospice will be the company’s Charity of the Year.

Jonathan, who recently sat his AS levels at Newcastle’s Royal Grammar School, has previously supported the hospice through a large donation in April, taking part in June’s Northern Rock Cyclone fundraising event and promotional work to make the public aware of St Oswald’s Midnight Walk, which will take place in October.

Jonathan said: "I recognise the social responsibility that my company has, and I know that St Oswald's is an amazing local charity which will put our donations to good use. The charity carries out exceptional work throughout the North East, and I'm pleased that I'm able to share my success.

“I’ve always lived in Gosforth and so I know what good work the Hospice does. I’m glad that the money I’ve earned from forfree4u.co.uk enables me to put a little bit back into the local community that has helped me build the company."

Jonathan set up his first internet business, www.minig.co.uk, which sells mobile phone accessories, in 2004, when he was just 12. Since then, he has created two other sites: forfree4u.co.uk, a rewards site where members can sign up for free mobile phones, iPods and cameras, and livenewcastle.co.uk, a listings site for Newcastle, which is soon to re-launch.

The announcement was welcomed warmly by Viv Williamson, community fundraiser at St Oswald’s, who said: "We are thrilled that MiniG Media has adopted St Oswald's as their Charity of the Year. With our annual running costs exceeding £6million, it is only through companies like MiniG that we are able to continue providing our care.

"Jonathan is an inspiration to our younger generation and new businesses everywhere. We are very grateful for his support and look forward to working with him in the future."