Challenge100: A Busy Start to Our 100th Year

We’ve had a busy start to our 100th year at H Malone & Sons! As part of our celebrations, we have been ticking off lots of challenges as part of Challenge100 – 100 Challenges for 100 years. From January to March, our team have taken on challenges big and small, all while supporting Smile for Life, boosting wellbeing, and celebrating what makes our team so special. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been getting up to so far.

North East Football Writers Awards

We were honoured to be the headline sponsor for this year’s North East Football Writers’ Association (NEFWA) Player of the Year Awards! It was a truly inspiring night celebrating the incredible talent we have here in the North East. From rising stars to established greats, the passion and dedication in the room was something special.

Seeing everyone come together to mark both the achievements of the region’s footballing talent and our centenary made the evening even more meaningful. We are focused on continuing to celebrate local talent now, in our 100th year and beyond.

Dynamic Fitness Sessions

To kickstart the new year, Dynamic Fitness based at Bakers Yard, Gosforth, organised two fitness sessions for the team with the goal of helping everyone get fitter, stronger, and happier as part of Challenge100.

The team provided a welcoming atmosphere and put us through our paces and tailored to everyone’s abilities. This generous donation of time from Dynamic Fitness will continue throughout the year to total five free sessions for staff to help build fitness, confidence and promote a healthy lifestyle.

H Malone's Great 100th Bake Off

We challenged our team to bring our their aspiring baking talents for a delicious bake sale. Our target was to make and sell 100 cakes which everyone rose to the occasion. Thanks to a brilliance effort from staff, with extra support from family and friends, we smashed our target. A delicious display of teamwork, creativity, and generosity.

Jigsaw Puzzle Challenge

Throughout the year we will be setting up various challenges in the H Malone office, the first was to be the fastest to complete the 100th anniversary jigsaw puzzle. Sounds easy right? This sparked some competitive energy in the office with people having multiple attempts to beat the highest scorers. All those who took part in the challenge kindly donated to Smile for Life per attempt, so we had some fun whilst still raising money for a good cause.

Newcastle United Matchday Ball Assistant

We were delighted to offer a truly special, once-in-a-lifetime experience for the next generation of the H. Malone family. As match sponsor for Newcastle United vs Aston Villa, we had two exclusive Match Day Ball Assistant opportunities available.

This unique experience gave two young people aged 14–16 the chance to be pitchside as part of the matchday team, while their parent or guardian joined us in the Heroes Club hospitality for the game.

To enter, staff nominated a close family member and committed to taking part in a Challenge100 activity, reinforcing the spirit of participation and community at the heart of our centenary year. All entries were placed into a random draw, with two successful nominees selected.

This fantastic opportunity perfectly reflects what Challenge100 is all about – bringing people together, creating memorable moments, and celebrating our 100th year with colleagues and their families.

Darts Challenge

Another office challenge enticed some keen dart players and rising stars! The challenge was to get the highest score possible in 100 seconds to win, which really tested everyone’s speed, accuracy, and quick maths! This was a really successful challenge with lots of people getting involved to help our fundraising goal and great to see the team all cheering each other on.

Annual Leave Purchase

A great way to cure the January blues – the opportunity to buy an additional holiday. This was a great opportunity to give employees a well earned additional day off to rest and relax, or however they chose to spend their day, whilst raising money for Smile for Life. A win-win all round!