Harrogate autism charity ‘honoured’ to attend Buckingham Palace partyHarrogate and Nidderdale charities recognised for work supporting young peopleNidderdale autism charity offers alternative learning sessionsAbseil down Brimham Rocks to help neurodiverse children

The charity Autism Angels is giving people the chance to abseil down Brimham Rocks to raise funds.

The organisation is holding its first charity abseil during World Autism Acceptance Week on Saturday, April 6.

Individuals, families, friends, work colleagues and corporate teams can take part at the National Trust site near Pateley Bridge. Registration costs £30.

Autism Angels, which is based at Summerbridge, works with horses to support neurodiverse children and their families.


It relies heavily on donations to provide services and hopes the event will boost its coffers. Further details are available here.

You can also donate on JustGiving, where a fundraising page has been set up with a £4,000 target.

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Harrogate charity in turmoil after Barclays suddenly closes account

A charity near Harrogate that provides riding therapy to vulnerable children has been plunged into turmoil by the sudden closure of its bank account.

Sarah Kekoa, founder of Autism Angels, said Barclays told her last week it had inadvertently closed the account and would reactivate it within 48 hours.

But nine days later the issue remains unresolved, leaving the charity unable to pay staff or cash-in cheques worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Ms Kekoa told the Stray Ferret she was desperate for the situation to be resolved quickly because it threatened the organisation’s reputation and ongoing viability. She said:

“We can’t pay anyone — it is absolutely diabolical. Our money is somewhere in the ether.

“We deal with some extremely vulnerable children. We have to be here for them and their families and this is putting us in a very difficult situation.”

Sarah Kekoa (centre) with colleagues at Autism Angels.

Ms Kekoa said the charity’s five staff, who are paid weekly, had continued to work despite missing out on their latest wages.

She said three families of her family had banked with Barclays and Autism Angels had been a Barclays customer for 11 years but she was “beyond frustrated” at the length of time the matter was taking to resolve.

She added staff at her local branch had been helpful but it appeared to be a classic case of “computer says no” with messages not being acted upon.

The Stray Ferret has seen an email from Barclays to Autism Angels, dated Friday last week, in which it said it was “trying to get your bank account opened as soon as possible” and apologising for any inconvenience.

Autism Angels, which is based in Summerbridge, near Pateley Bridge, helps people with autism, mental health issues and in crisis ride horses and ponies for therapy.

A Barclays Spokesperson said:

“As part of our ongoing responsibility to help prevent financial crime, and to meet our regulatory obligations, we are required to keep up to date information regarding our customers’ accounts.

“We share a series of communications with our customers including writing to them by post, through alert banners on our digitally active customers’ online and mobile banking as well as reminder SMS text messages and emails asking customers to supply us with some important information relating to their Barclays business account.

“In cases where we do not receive a response with up-to-date account information, we will proceed with the application of card blocks and account restrictions, ahead of issuing final closure arrangements. Therefore, it is very important that account holders respond to these requests.”

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Seven Harrogate district charities receive National Lottery grants worth £450,000

Seven voluntary organisations in the Harrogate district have received National Lottery cash injections totalling nearly £450,000.

They are among 300 organisations in Yorkshire and Humberside to receive a share of more than £13 million awarded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Dementia Forward, based in Burton Leonard, was awarded almost £240,000, which was the largest donation made to a North Yorkshire charity.

The grant will provide three-year funding for its time out together group for people aged 35 to 65 with young onset dementia.

The group enables younger people with this rare form of dementia, who receive little support, to socialise and go on day trips.

The time out together members at Dementia Forward.

Debby Lennox, community liaison manager at Dementia Forward, said:

“The real testament to the success of this project and the need for it to continue is the difference that it is making to the people we support and their families – it truly is life changing.”

The other local groups rewarded were:

Ripon Community Link — £170,000

Ripon Community Link supports adults and young people with learning disabilities.

The charity offers members the chance to work in a café or shop based at Ripon Walled Gardens, and aims to boost self-confidence and employability skills.

The funding will be used to employ more staff to support members working and encourage them to serve customers.

Emerging Voices — £5,780

Emerging Voices is a Harrogate-based project which uses music to improve mental health.

Members can receive mentoring from musicians and teachers. They are offered support with songwriting, singing and playing instruments.

It will use the donation to restart a wellbeing choir and mentoring services.

It hopes the choir will bring people together and reduce isolation.

St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Harrogate — £10,000

 St Joseph’s Catholic Church, on Skipton Road, will use its award to contribute towards the replacement of a boiler in the church hall.

The hall is used by groups to host community events and private functions.

Starbeck Community Library — £6,000

 Starbeck Community Library, located on the High Street, will use the donation to improve the children’s reading area.

It hopes a new and improved reading area will encourage families to stay at the library for longer and, in turn, improve children’s development.

Autism Angels — £10,000

 Summerbridge-based charity Autism Angels offers horse riding sessions to children with autism.

It also offers support to parents, siblings and carers.

The grant will be used to fund additional support sessions for parents and carers. It hopes to start a father’s support group and a parenting programme.

The charity also hopes the funding will reduce isolation and increase awareness and knowledge.

The Robinson Library — £7,500

The Robinson Library in Timble is used as a village hall to house community events, as well as health and wellbeing activities.

The money will be used to refurbish the kitchen.

Joe Dobson, head of funding for Yorkshire and Humberside at the National Lottery Community Fund, said:

“We’re delighted that local groups are using our funding to strengthen communities and improve lives in our region.

“Their passion, creativity and commitment are making a real difference to local people’s lives, and this deserves recognition.”

The fund aims to distribute at least £4 billion by 2030 to support community activities, inclusivity and improve the environment.

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Harrogate district autism charity celebrates 10th anniversary

A Harrogate district autism charity is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Autism Angels hosts sessions for autistic children and their families at Throstle Nest Farm near Summerbridge.

The charity offers horse-riding therapy sessions along with kids’ clubs and day camps.

Sarah Kekoa, who founded the charity in 2012, said she believed that the charity had led to “breakthroughs” with children’s experiences.

Ms Kekoa added that they took a positive approach which was not always present in everyday life:

“A lot of people project on to them that they can’t do [things] and we don’t believe that. We believe they can do. It’s just how.”

The charity aims to teach life skills such as teamwork, kindness and feeling able to speak up.

It also uses the occasional unpredictability of the horses to help children address their fears and anxieties.

The organisation also works as a space for the parents to come together to talk about their experiences and share their advice.

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For Ms Kekoa, the last decade has brought “breakthroughs” in terms of helping children.

However, she stressed, the end outcome was not the same for every child. She said:

“We had children coming last week who weren’t even in school and are now going back to school now in September… The aim isn’t always to get them back into school, but the aim is to always to keep their mental health and wellbeing a priority.”

To celebrate the anniversary, Autism Angels is hosting a party for those involved in the charity this weekend.

In April, some of the families undertook a 150-mile journey coast-to-coast journey and raised more than £10,000.

Sarah Kekoa, founder of the Autism Angels charity

Sarah Kekoa founded the Autism Angels charity in 2012 (photo: Autism Angels)

Time with “the Horse Whisperer”

Ms Kekoa was inspired to start the riding therapy after spending time with American horse trainer Monty Roberts, who is known as “the Horse Whisperer” in the United States.

She noticed similarities between the non-verbal communication methods of the horses and autistic children. She said:

“It’s the way that they move and behave which tells their story.”