charity Archives - Page 16 of 41

Starbeck woman, 67, takes on swimming charity challenge

A Starbeck woman is set to take on a 50-length swim in aid of a children’s cancer charity.

Carol Bland, who is 67 and has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, arthritis and fibromyalgia, aims to raise funds for Candelighters, which helped her after her 12-year-old daughter Faye died.

Faye had leukaemia and passed away in 1991.

Carol said the Leeds-based charity helped the family during the two years her daughter was ill.

She said:

“The Candlelighters did a lot for us as a family for the two years that Faye was ill. They also provided us with a free caravan at Primrose Valley after we lost her.”

The 67-year-old now wants to thank the charity for their help and is planning a 50-length swim at Starbeck Pool.

She will take on the challenge on her birthday and is asking for donations instead of presents.

Carol added:

“I’m not in the best of health anymore and can’t participate in the walks or runs so I decided that for my birthday on December 17 instead of presents I would ask for sponsorship to do a 50-length swim of Starbeck Pool.”

For more information about Candlelighters and to donate to Carol’s swimming challenge, visit the donations page here.

Christmas market and firework finale come to Knaresborough this weekend

The festive season gets underway in Knaresborough this weekend with the Christmas Market and the launch of the Christmas Tree Festival.

Centred around the large Christmas tree in the town’s historic Market Place, the two-day shopping event, on Saturday and Sunday, December 3 and 4, will feature almost 60 stalls selling seasonal goods, decorations, cards, gifts and locally-sourced produce.

Hot roasted chestnuts, mulled wine and performances by local dancers, brass bands and choirs promise to add to the festive atmosphere.

Knaresborough Chamber of Trade and Commerce committee member Charlotte Gale said:

“We have a fantastic range of local independent shops, galleries, cafes and restaurants in town, not just in the market square, but on the surrounding streets and High Street.

“We hope that visitors to the market will also take the time to explore everything which Knaresborough has to offer. There is even a book signing at Castlegate Books with best selling local crime author Wes Markin from noon on Saturday.

“Knaresborough’s businesses always make such an effort to decorate their windows for Christmas, which gives a wonderful festive feeling in town on the market weekend.

“There are lots of events happening around the town too, including a shopping event at Knaresborough train station and the start of the stunning Christmas Tree Festival at St John’s Church, which features beautifully decorated trees from local businesses and organisations.”

The Christmas Market is organised by volunteers from Knaresborough Rotary, Knaresborough Chamber and Knaresborough Lions.

Free park and ride

The centre of Knaresborough will be largely pedestrianised for the event, but a free park and ride is available all weekend from the GSPK car park (postcode HG5 8LF) on Manse Lane to Chapel Street, close to the Market Square.

The weekend will close at 4.30pm on Sunday, December 4 with a firework finale, set against the dramatic backdrop of Knaresborough’s famous viaduct and the Nidd Gorge. This is best seen from any viewpoint which overlooks the river area.

Market chair Hazel Haas, of Knaresborough Rotary, said:

“We are keen that this year’s market benefits the town as a whole.

“Members of our volunteer committee have been liaising with other local organisations and businesses to ensure that we are promoting the full range of festive events taking place in Knaresborough over the market weekend, including the popular Christmas Tree Festival at St John’s Church.”

The Christmas Tree Festival at St John’s will run from Saturday December 3 until December 23.

Every year more than 70 Christmas trees decorated by local groups and businesses are displayed in the church on Vicarage Lane.

Admission is free, but there will be the opportunity to donate to the church and the event’s chosen charity for this year.

For more information on Knaresborough Christmas Market, including travel information, entertainment timings and events taking place throughout the town, click here.

Meanwhile, Harrogate’s Christmas Fayre kicked off today and tonight (Friday) sees the return of late night shopping in Pateley Bridge and Bewerley for the first time since 2019.

Shops will stay open until about 7.30pm to offer festive treats and community groups will operate stalls along the High Street.

Harrogate’s Christmas Fayre got underway today and next week sees Boroughbridge’s late night shopping and Christmas lights switch-on event on Wednesday (December 7).

Harrogate district people with disabilities urged to have their say on housing tomorrow

People with disabilities in the Harrogate district have been invited to attend a debate tomorrow night about accessible housing.

Harrogate-based charity Disability Action Yorkshire has assembled a panel of four experts for the event, which will take place at the Cedar Court Hotel in Harrogate at 5pm.

Titled ‘Accessible Housing for Everyone in North Yorkshire’, the event gives disabled people the chance to have their say and influence decisions on assisted living.

Jackie Snape, chief executive of Disability Action Yorkshire, said:

“The aim of the evening is for disabled people to tell us, and more importantly our panellists, about their housing needs.

“Our hope is that their comments will help influence future assisted living decisions made by the new North Yorkshire Council, which in turn will deliver benefits to those disabled people looking to live in their own homes.”

The panel includes:

Richard Webb, North Yorkshire County Council corporate director for health and adult services
Sarah Roxby, Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group‘s associate director of health.
Cllr Mike Chambers, Harrogate Borough Council cabinet member for housing and safer communities
Christina McGill, Habinteg Housing Association‘s director of social impact and external affairs

Disability Action Yorkshire chair, Neil Revely, will head the panel.

New 36-bed home

This year, Disability Action Yorkshire, in partnership with Highstone Housing Association, was granted approval by Harrogate Borough Council to replace its 20-bed care home on Claro Road, Harrogate with a new 36-bed care home.

The £7.5 million complex will also include a base for Disability Action Yorkshire staff, who will be on site 24-hours a day.

Ms Snape said:

“Our assisted living scheme, which will be completed by this time next year, is one of the most significant developments in our 85-year history. It fulfils one of our key ambitions, to give disabled people the independence they crave.

“Whilst our panellists have a wealth of expertise in this area, we believe it’s vital that they hear from the district’s disabled community. These are the people who more often than not need some form of assistance to live independently, and we need to ensure these needs are properly met.”

If you would like to participate in the debate, contact Jackie Snape via email or telephone at: 01423855410.

The breaking ground ceremony at Claro Road with, from left to right, Disability Action Yorkshire chair Neil Revely, The Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate Cllr Victoria Oldham, Harrogate & Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, and Highstone Housing Association executive director Joanne Hawley.

Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal 2022: Help ensure nobody goes hungry this Christmas

This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Please read Vicky’s story about the charity below and give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas. They need your help.

This Christmas, there are local people – colleagues, neighbours, friends – young, elderly and working age people — who will not be able to put food on their tables.

There is help at hand from local organisation Resurrected Bites – but it’s facing a tough time too.

Just weeks ago, it warned it faced an uncertain future: its own costs are rising, the amount being donated had dropped, and more and more people are looking for help.

That’s why, from now until Christmas, the Stray Ferret is calling on everyone to give their support to this vital local organisation to help us secure its future.

All donations go directly to Resurrected Bites and will be generously match-funded by Harrogate firm Techbuyer, up to the value of £5,000.

Over the next four weeks, I’ll bring you stories that show just how important the work of Resurrected Bites is. Please read them, share them, and donate whatever you can.

The story of Resurrected Bites

“Harrogate is a really difficult place to be poor.

“There’s this perception that it’s all rosy, but that’s not the case for a lot of people.”

It was this realisation that prompted Michelle Hayes to do something to make a difference across the Harrogate district.

The former research scientist founded a food waste café as part of her role as mission and outreach worker, employed by St Mark’s Church but covering the whole of Harrogate.

Resurrected Bites began life in 2018 in the foyer of the church on Leeds Road, using food from supermarkets and some local hospitality businesses which would otherwise be thrown away. There was nothing wrong with the food, other than perhaps passing its ‘best before’ guidance date – but it would have ended up in a bin.

She was inspired by the Real Junk Food Project in Leeds, founded by Adam Smith. Not only was it reducing food waste, it was making a significant difference to people. Michelle said:

“It literally saved a guy’s life. He had lost his job and had no money, and he couldn’t see a way forward. He was contemplating ending his own life.

“He walked past the café, went in and got a meal, and ended up becoming a volunteer. It saved his life.”

The Harrogate café proved to be a success. Not only did it reduce food waste across the Harrogate area, it provided hot meals on a pay-as-you-feel basis to local people, and offered an opportunity to soclialise too.

Michelle turned it into a community interest company, meaning it is run for the benefit of the community and its income is used to continue this work.

Expansion

In 2020, Resurrected Bites began to expand, with a second café at Gracious Street Methodist Church in Knaresborough launching in January, followed by a third at West Park United Reformed Church, in early March.

Then, of course, everything changed.

The arrival of covid meant the cafes all had to close immediately, but Michelle and the small team of volunteers knew there was still a role for them. They began distributing food parcels to the many local people who suddenly found themselves out of work and short on money.

Just a fraction of the food donated to Resurrected Bites every week during covid lockdowns

At the height of covid, they were intercepting three tonnes of food waste every week and ensuring it reached people who would otherwise not have enough to eat.

Michelle said:

“I realised the scale of food poverty in the area. It was shocking.

“I knew then that once we stopped doing the deliveries, we still had to have a mechanism to get things to people who really needed it.”

Community groceries

While restrictions were still in place, Michelle began working on the next stage of the project: community groceries.

Using the same principle as the cafés of taking food that was still perfectly edible but would not be sold commercially, they were designed to help households who could not afford enough food.

The community groceries allow people to choose their own food from the shelves. Members pay a small fee – £3 for a household up to three, £6 for four or more people – and for that can select a set number of fresh, frozen and packaged goods, as well as toiletries and household products.

Two groceries opened in autumn 2021, at Gracious Street and New Park Community Hub. Demand has grown enormously in the year since, as their reputation has spread.

The number of customers at the cafés has also risen and there are plans in place to open a third, in Killinghall, in the new year. Michelle said:

“When I set up the cafes, the community groceries weren’t even on my radar.

“Resurrected Bites has been a lot more successful than I had anticipated. It is meeting a lot of need in our community.”

It’s clear the cafés and groceries are badly needed. With the cost of living crisis hitting and recession looming, that need is only likely to grow.

It already costs £7,500 every month to deliver those vital services. Please donate to the Stray Ferret’s Christmas appeal to ensure Resurrected Bites can continue supporting people who badly need it in 2023 and beyond.

Nobody in the Harrogate district should go hungry this Christmas.

Whatever you can donate will help local people to feed themselves – and prevent food waste too.

Just £10 can pay for a family’s weekly shopping in the community grocery. Click here to contribute now.

Harrogate girls to cut hair to raise funds for friend with luekaemia

Two girls from Harrogate will cut and donate their hair to charity to raise funds for The Candlelighters Trust charity.

Holly, 7, and Heidi, 5, will have their locks removed next month and donate their hair to the Little Princess Trust, which will turn it into real hair wigs.

The two girls have been growing their hair since last November in support of their friend Sophia Felgate, 7, who has acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Sophia was first diagnosed in 2018, just a week after her third birthday. She finished treatment in August 2020, however the cancer returned last November.

The idea came from Holly wanting to give Sophia her own hair to “make her feel better”, after Sophia lost her hair due to chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

The Candlelighters Trust provides practical, emotional and financial support to families of children with cancer.

They have been helping the Felgate family since Sophia’s diagnosis in 2018. They have provided the Felgates with counselling, family fun days, massages/haircuts/manicures for Sophia and pizza nights.

The fundraiser has already raised almost £1,000. If you would like to donate to the cause you can do so on the JustGiving page.

New Year’s Eve cycle ride in Harrogate to raise money for homeless

A New Year’s Eve cycle ride is being held around Harrogate to raise money for Harrogate Homeless Project.

Entrants will depart from cycling shop Prologue on Cold Bath Road, Harrogate and take part in either a 35-mile or 55-mile route.

Coffee will be served from 9am and rides leave from 9.30am, with the fastest riders leaving first in groups of 16.

The entry fee is £5 with all the proceeds going to Harrogate Homeless Project.

Victoria Mannakee, director of Harrogate-based event management company Struggle Events, which is organising the event, said:

“Just two £5 entries is enough to provide a hot meal, shower, clothing and laundry facilities for one person. Three entries is enough to get someone off the street for a night.

“Over 100 riders entered last New Year’s Eve. Think what we can do as a cycling collective if every rider simply turned up to Prologue and rode their bikes this New Year’s Eve.”

“It’s a great social atmosphere; Harrogate’s cycling club members, local professional riders, individual riders, triathletes and social cyclists join forces to raise much-needed funds for the Harrogate Homeless Project.”

Many top cyclists, including Olympic champions Jonny and Alistair Brownlee and Tour de France stage winner Tom Pidcock, often take part in Struggle Events’ community rides.

You can enter here or on the day.

Charities stall set for Harrogate Christmas Fayre return

Harrogate Christmas Fayre returns from December 2 and so does the stall dedicated to local charities.

Harrogate Borough Council and operators Market Place Europe have collaborated to offer local charities the chance to promote themselves and generate funds.

The number of charities which are set to be featured on the stall has increased from 10 to 11 this year.

Artizan International, Carers Resource, Dementia Forward, Girlguiding North Yorkshire West, Harlow Hill Men’s Shed, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust Community Charity, Harrogate Easier Living Project, Harrogate Skills 4 Living Centre, Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation, Samaritans of Harrogate and District, and Ripon Walled Garden are all set to use the stall to raise money and awareness.

Carol Chapman from Samaritans of Harrogate and District said:

“We are always delighted with the heartfelt support of our local community and especially at times when we are able to connect with them during events such as this.

“Christmas can be a particularly difficult time of year for people, for lots of different reasons which may trigger feelings of isolation, loneliness and depression to name a few.

“Samaritans volunteers want to raise awareness that they are here for emotional support on a 24/7 basis, 365 days a year.”

The charities involved were identified via the Local Lotto initiative. This is a council-run initiative to raise additional funds for voluntary or community groups across the Harrogate district.

HBC leader Cllr Richard Cooper said:

“Building on the success of last year, Destination Harrogate is due to be even bigger and better. And with thousands of people expected to visit the town, I’m sure these charities will be able to raise their profile and generate some funds for their worthy cause, at a time when it is needed the most.”

Harrogate Christmas Fayre begins on Friday, December 2 and ends on Sunday, December 11. It will take place on Cambridge Street and Market Place in the heart of Harrogate town centre.

There are several attractions debuting at the fayre this year, including a new ice skating rink, an après ski bar and York’s 32m ferris wheel.

Ripon woman sets up dyspraxia support group

A Ripon woman who believed she was “broken”, but went on to graduate from university after being diagnosed with dyspraxia, has launched a not-for-profit company to help others who may share the condition.

Carol Turnbull set up Chrysalis Dyspraxia Awareness last year with a view to providing one-to-one support for people pre- or post-diagnosis and helping them to understand their potential.

She has also given a talk to a government department and hopes to expand this side of the business, speaking to companies and organisations about neurodivergency and its workplace implications.

Dyspraxia is a condition affecting physical co-ordination and causes children to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age, and appear to move clumsily.

How people make plans and decisions, organise their lives and regulate their emotions may also be affected. The condition is closely associated with dyslexia, autism, ADHD, and dyscalculia.

Carol Turnbull

Carol was 47 before she was diagnosed with the condition, but says she had always known there was something wrong.

“I had a life of thinking I was broken; I could feel something wasn’t right,” she says.

“As a child, I was always looked on as different and was picked on a lot. I always wondered why people didn’t like me, and that lasted right through till adulthood.”

After more than 30 years working in the care industry, Carol happened to take her son to an open evening at York College, but ended up herself enrolling on an access course. That led to her taking a psychology degree at Leeds Beckett University, where she was first diagnosed.

She says:

“It changed my life. Learning about myself and how I function neurologically and socially has greatly improved my confidence and this directly contributed to the development of Chrysalis.”

Now, she wants to pass on that knowledge, giving others the support that she missed out on. Contact can be made via her website here. She says:

“A lot of people with dyspraxia pigeonhole themselves, and it can feel quite disabling if people around you don’t know why you are the way you are if you yourself don’t know why.

“Giving others this power and supporting them to understand themselves and their dyspraxia better can open up the world to so many people who may feel their wants and desires are beyond their capabilities. This is something I am passionate about. I strongly believe that, given the right support, people can achieve absolutely anything!”

Final appeal for donations towards £10k cost of Harrogate bonfire

The organisers of the Stray Bonfire are appealing for help to meet the costs of putting on one of Harrogate’s best-loved events tomorrow.

Harrogate Round Table has set a £10,000 fundraising target, but so far less than a tenth of that has been pledged.

The Stray Bonfire event costs about £13,500 to stage, with £5,000 spent on fireworks alone. Organiser Andy Rickard said:

“We run the event as volunteers, but there are costs we can’t avoid, such as parking, medical care and closing roads. It’s free to attend and we’d like to keep it that way, so if you can afford to help out with the costs it would be very much appreciated.”

The event, which starts at 5pm tomorrow (Saturday, November 5) and finishes with a fireworks finale at 7.15pm, will also feature music from three bands, hot food stalls, a licensed bar and – new this year – on-site toilets. The Met Office is forecasting an evening of dry weather.

The organisers had planned to ditch the traditional bonfire this year in favour of other entertainment, but changed their minds last week and reinstated it.

As well as individual donations, the team of volunteers is interested in hearing from any businesses or other organisations which might sponsor the event.

Mr Rickard said:

“If there are any companies that are interested, for £250 you can become a community sponsor and we’ll put your logo up on the big screen in front of about 10,000 people – right before Christmas.

“You can also donate at our GoFundMe page, or give £5 by texting BONFIRE to 70460.

“On the night we’ll even have card-readers, so you can donate that way, but we’ll only have four of them, so we’d urge people to bring cash, as we’ll have 60 bucket-shakers collecting donations.”

Any surplus funds will be donated to Harrogate Homeless Project, which marks 30 years in the town this year.

Mr Rickard added:

“We really wanted to celebrate Harrogate Homeless Project’s 30th anniversary, but also, the cost-of-living crisis is going to affect everybody, but the homeless are potentially the most vulnerable, so we wanted to help as much as we can as winter approaches.”

Diners to eat blindfolded to raise funds for Harrogate guide dogs

An unusual charity dinner at Harrogate’s Rudding Park next month will see diners eat their main course blindfolded.

The event is being organised to raise money for Guide Dogs UK in Harrogate and to stimulate what dining out is like for people with a visual impairment.

Dine in the Dark will take place at the hotel on November 11.

Guide dog owner Kim Murphy said:

“Having my guide dog Jango has completely changed my life and events such as this are crucial for raising funds so that somebody else with sight loss can get a life changing guide dog like Jango.”

Nicola Ridgway, community fundraising manager for Guide Dogs UK in Harrogate, added:

“Dine in the Dark gives you the opportunity to enjoy great company and to have fun while experiencing the sensory effect of eating food with no vision.

“It will give you an insight into how visually impaired guide dog owners experience life on a daily basis.”

Tickets are £53.30 each (Inc booking fee) and are available here.

All funds raised will be donated to Guide Dogs UK.

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Free park and ride

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New 36-bed home

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The story of Resurrected Bites

Expansion

Community groceries

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