To recognise the hard work of NHS staff during the coronavirus pandemic a Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity calendar is being released. 

Now on sale, the calendar is raising money for the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT). 

The calendar showcases the winning entries of a photo competition run by the charity. The selection includes uplifting images of staff at work, as well as photos of the Harrogate district. 

The HHCC team with some of the new calendars.

Ben Windass, materials management procurement officer at HDFT, took the winning image on the front of the calendar. He said:

“I named this piece of work ‘Rainbow’ because of the general theme around national support for the NHS and I feel this picture really encapsulates this. Incidentally, these crocheted rainbows were kindly donated to the Trust, which also reinforces the theme of support and positivity towards HDFT, and the NHS as a whole.

“Any money raised by the sale of these calendars would be greatly appreciated. On a personal level, it feels warming that I have been able to contribute towards this project and hope that it will in turn contribute to supporting our fabulous Trust and all the communities we serve.”

Read more: 

• Harrogate hospital unveils LGBTQ+ rainbow crossings
• Sneak peek: Colourful charity crafts store opens in Harrogate

Sammy Lambert, business development, charity and volunteer manager, said: 

“We are so proud to be launching the 2020/21 calendar. The images used to develop it are absolutely amazing and really capture the spirit of the NHS in the north and what it means to be a part of team HDFT.

 “It’s been a tough year for both colleagues and service users at the Trust, and we are really keen to raise as much as we can following the success of last year’s calendar in order to continue improving what the Trust can do for its local communities.”

The calendars are available for a suggested £10 donation, with all proceeds going to HDFT. This is thanks to sponsorship from Living and Home, a homeware store based in Manchester, whose director has strong ties to the trust after his daughter was born at Harrogate District Hospital. 

The Trust will use the funds to provide electronic tablets for patients to video call relatives while in hospital. It will also use them to improve its services, training and facilities. 

Two businesses in the Harrogate district are challenging themselves to get moving in order to raise money for charity. 

Harrogate firm, High Street TV, is aiming to cover 500km in two hours today. Fifty members of staff will take part- walking and running however far they can to make the total distance. 

Their ‘Keep on Moving’ challenge has raised £2,450 so far for Saint Michael’s Hospice, 163% of their original target. 

Speaking about why the company chose to do this challenge, fundraising coordinator Lisa Dallas said: 

“We haven’t been able to fundraise recently because of the current covid situation, so we needed to do something a little bit different. We had to think outside the box, because we had to do something where we wouldn’t be in a group.” 

Over the years, High Street TV have raised £41,710 for Saint Michael’s Hospice and are a member of their Guild of Patrons. 

Read more: 

• Saint Michael’s offers big money lottery Superdraw
• Ripon schoolgirl smashes charity fundraising target

Staff from Yorkshire letting agent Linley & Simpson have already begun their attempt to get “Around the World in 80 Days”, which is raising money for Martin House Hospice. 

To reach their target of covering 40,075km, staff from the Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough branches are running, walking or cycling. A combined daily distance of 505km will have to be recorded via a smartphone tracking app in order for them to make their goal. 

Martin House, based in Boston Spa, supports families North, West and East Yorkshire. They provide palliative care to children and young people with life limiting conditions. 

Will Linley, left and Nick Simpson.

Will Linley, Linley & Simpson chief executive and co-founder, said: 

“Because Covid has denied us the opportunity of taking part in a series of planned fundraising activities for Martin House, we have now devised this challenge as our grand sponsored finale of 2020.

 “Martin house is an incredible charity, and one that we are delighted to be supporting for at least another 12 months. Over the last five years we have raised more than £100,000, and to mark our 24th year in business we have now set ourselves a £24,000 target over the next 12 months.”

To donate to the High Street TV “Keep on Moving” challenge, click here. 

With a story behind each and every product on the shelves, a colourful new charity shop is preparing to open its doors in Harrogate tomorrow.

Artizan International’s debut store on Oxford Street will sell crafts made by disabled people from the UK, Peru and Ecuador.

The charity, which was previously known as Craft Aid International, was founded by Susie Hart when she returned to Harrogate from Tanzania 10 years ago.

The shop sells bright cushions, lampshades, jewellery, headbands and more made by disabled people. The charity trains them in crafts and gives them a living through the sales.

A new shop in Harrogate on Oxford Street in the former Harrogate Hub.

Picking up a pair of pink earrings off the shelf, Ms Hart explained to the Stray Ferret how the charity changes lives:

“They were made by a young man in Peru called Steven who uses a wheelchair. He had never had a job before and had never been able to support his girlfriend. Things were really desperate for him before he joined us.”

The pink earrings made by Steven.

The new shop on Oxford Street is the former home of Harrogate Hub, which no longer needed the space so offered it to Artizan at half the price.

When an anonymous donor heard about this, they stepped in with £200,000 to help Artizan buy the building.

Read more:

• New barbers opens in Harrogate town centre
• New shop opens in Killinghall today

Juggling the new shop with the charity’s existing work has been a huge challenge over the last few months.

The coronavirus lockdown meant all of the craft sessions and tutorials abroad and at home needed to stop or move online.

Bright and colourful headbands on the shelves.

It also meant all of the Artizan teams in Peru and Ecuador had to stop production. They still have some stock leftover from before the pandemic but Harrogate Scrubbers also stepped in to help fill the shelves.

Artizan plans to open a cafe in the building at the start of next year staffed solely by people with hearing disabilities.

Would you like to spread the word about your shop opening? No matter how small the shop get in touch with the Stray Ferret.

Coronavirus has devastated many lives this year but for one Harrogate street, the pandemic has at least brought neighbours closer together.

Since lockdown in March, residents of St Helen’s Road have been using a WhatsApp group to help each other out.

People have used the group to offer help with shopping, look out for neighbours who are shielding or share unwanted items. 

Six months on the group, set up by Holly Jones, continues to foster community spirit during these dark times in the street, which is near St Aidan’s Church of England High School. 

Colette Lain, who lives on St Helen’s Road, said:

“The street has gone from a fairly anonymous place before lockdown to a really lively and supportive neighbourhood.

“It gave you the security that there were people that cared, and that was fantastic.”

Ms Lain decided to make the most of the community spirit by organising a street charity raffle to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Ms Lain volunteers for the charity but was unable to do so during the pandemic. 

Read More: 

• Ripon schoolgirl smashes charity fundraising target
• Seven weeks to raise £115,000 for Harrogate community woodland

Friends and neighbours donated prizes, and residents bought tickets by posting money and their addresses through Ms Lain’s front door. 

Colette Lain, picking the winner of the raffle.

She raised £250 for the air ambulance, and has plans to generate more through a bumper Christmas raffle in December. 

Jane Kennerly and Holly Jones have also set up a book swap in a telephone box on the street in another move to bring neighbours together.

The Stray Ferret wonders how many other streets in the Harrogate district have come together in this way during the pandemic.

A Knaresborough woman will attempt to break a world record tomorrow for the most netball goals scored in one hour. 

To set the record, Sue Hobson, who plays goal shooter for the Hawks netball club in Harrogate, needs to shoot more than 756 goals – more than 12 goals a minute.

Sue is aiming to reach more than 900 goals in total and has already raised more than £1,100 for Saint Michael’s Hospice in the process. To support Sue, click here. 

Speaking about why she has chosen to fundraise for the charity, Sue said: 

“It just felt too unusual or quirky an activity to not try and use it for something positive, especially when there’s not a lot of positivity in the world at the moment.

“Living in the Harrogate and Knaresborough area I know people that have been helped by Saint Michael’s Hospice, and it seems like a great local charity.”

Sue has been training for this challenge since the beginning of lockdown, when her regular netball training sessions and matches stopped.

After setting herself challenges in her back garden, such as scoring 100 goals in a row, she began researching world records for netball. 

Sue said the support from other local organisations, such as King James’s School and Harrogate Netball League, have spurred her on to complete the challenge.

Read more: 

• Nidderdale vicar sets new world record
• St Michael’s has doubled its November Superdraw to over £2000 to thanks its supporters.

As part of this year’s World Mental Health Day, the Harrogate Samaritans is asking the public to look out for one another. This comes after a long six months of social distancing, leaving many people isolated. 

This year’s theme is ‘mental health for all’. 

The charity will be sharing advice today to help spot the signs of someone that is struggling on social media, and asks that you join in the conversation using #WMHD.  

Other resources can be found on the Samaritans website. These supply information on how to help someone having suicidal thoughts, and provide advice on looking after your emotional wellbeing. 

Branch director at Harrogate Samaritans, Liz Wilson said: 

“As the pandemic continues and we face potential new restrictions, we must remember to prioritise our mental health and stay connected with others. The age of social distancing has meant people are having less face to face contact so it can be much harder to spot signs that someone might be struggling.”

Read more: 

• Harrogate Scrubbers steps in to help disability charity
• Friends conquer the hills for Ripley charity

Meanwhile, Yorkshire Water will be marking World Mental Health Day by placing signs at Fewston and Thruscross reservoirs that encourage mindfulness.

The signs include a quote that explains how “mindfulness is about being in the present” and offers an example of a mindfulness exercise for visitors to try.  

Characters of all shapes and sizes will line the streets of Pannal and Burn Bridge this weekend as part of the first ever Scarecrow Harvest Festival.

It has been set up by St Robert’s Church in Pannal, in place of its usual harvest festival, to raise money for Harrogate District Foodbank.

More than 60 scarecrows have been entered by local families and individuals, as well as Burn Bridge and Busy Bees pre-schools, Pannal and Burn Bridge Parish Council, and Pannal Methodist Church.

A map of all the locations, covering as far as Walton Park to the south and Beckwith Road in the north, has been put together by organisers Chloe Darcy and Stephanie Cave. They have uploaded it to the St Robert’s Church website, along with a voting sheet and photos of all the entries so far.

Chloe said:

“People have been so keen. We thought we would run with it but you’re never sure what the response will be. It has been really positive. It’s a bit of fun and everyone can get involved – even those who are shielding because we’re putting all the photos online so people can vote.”

Read more:

• Fears Harrogate food bank will see spike in demand when furlough ends
• Harrogate Scrubbers steps in to help disability charity

Entries so far include clowns, nurses, farmers, Minecraft, cartoon characters – and even scarecrows of Pannal School teachers. Each entrant has donated £5 and people taking part are also encouraged to give what they can via the fundraising page.

Chloe added:

“There would normally be a harvest festival and Pannal School would put on harvest services and bring the children to St Robert’s. We can’t collect donations of food this year, so we’re hoping to raise money for the foodbank instead.”

More than £750 has already been donated by the community before the trail has even been launched. The event runs from 9am on Saturday, October 10 until 4pm on Sunday, October 11.

Votes for the best scarecrow will be counted next week, with the winners announced on Sunday, October 18. First, second and third places will be awarded rosettes and prize money.

The Saint Michael’s community lottery is to double its jackpot as a way of thanking players for helping it raise £200,000 a year.

Established in 2000, money raised by the lottery helps the Harrogate hospice provide care and support to families affected by terminal illness and bereavement. 

To mark the lottery’s 20th year, Saint Michael’s has launched a Big Thank You Superdraw with a prize of £2,020. Its usual weekly jackpot is £1,000.

The superdraw will be held on November 4. Current lottery members will be automatically entered but newcomers are welcome to join.

Tina Hedges, deputy chief executive of Saint Michael’s said: 

“Regular and dependable income, such as the lottery, has never been more important, and in recent times has given us the ability to innovate and adapt to help our community throughout the pandemic.

“It is therefore apt that we offer our Big Thank You Superdraw during a year when we couldn’t be more grateful for the ongoing support of our community.”

Visit the charity’s website or call 01423 878628 to take part in the lottery.

Read more: 

• Light a candle for lost babies, urges Harrogate charity
• Harrogate Scrubbers steps in to help disability charity

The Harrogate branch of the pregnancy crisis support charity Reflect is asking people to light candles next week to remember babies that died during pregnancy.

The candles will form a virtual wave of life during Baby Loss Awareness Week, which begins tomorrow.

The week raises awareness of pregnancy and baby death in the UK.

This year will focus on the isolation many people experience after pregnancy and baby loss – women, partners, other family members and friends, especially since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. 

To get involved, Reflect is asking people to light a candle at 7pm on October 15 and share a photo of it online, accompanied by the hashtag #WaveofLight.

Landmarks across the UK will light up blue and pink, and virtual services will be held as part of the week-long activities.

Tanya Allen, manager of Reflect Harrogate said: 

“We hope that Baby Loss Awareness Week will spark conversations about baby loss and give local bereaved parents and families an opportunity to talk about their precious babies.

“For some people Covid has meant that they have felt more isolated in their loss, and for others the slowdown has caused the past pain of loss to surface, which they may now need to process.”

Tanya Allen, manager of Reflect

Read more: 

• Harrogate charity Frank’s Fund moves comedy night online
• Friends conquer the hills for Ripley charity

Reflect provides free and confidential support services for individuals and couples to help them cope with their bereavement. 

For further information about Baby Loss Awareness Week visit: www.babyloss-awareness.org

A Harrogate teenager will attempt to complete the Yorkshire Three Peaks in December as a tribute to her grandmother, who died of sepsis.

Leah Gresty undertook the challenge, which will raise money for the UK Sepsis Trust, in honour of Elizabeth Simmonite, who died on September 29. 

Elizabeth was a former butcher and baker on Knaresborough Road, Harrogate.

Leah said:

“She always liked being with nature and going for walks, so it seemed quite fitting, and it’s something that she would have liked to do herself.” 

Leah’s grandmother, Elizabeth, enjoying the outdoors

There are about 48,000 deaths from sepsis every year in the UK. 

Early diagnosis is crucial for improving survival rates. Leah, who has so far raised more than £500, hopes her challenge will spread the message.

The tough Three Peaks challenge involves climbing Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough in less than 12 hours – a particularly difficult feat in the darkness of winter.

You can donate here to Leah’s JustGiving fundraising page.

Read More: 

• Woman’s plea after cyclist runs over her dog on Stray
• Harrogate Scrubbers steps in to help disability charity

How to spot Spesis:

Sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It happens when your immune system starts to damage your body’s own tissues and organs, causing organ failure and death if not treated quickly. 

www.nhs.uk advises you to call 999 or visit A&E if an adult or older child experiences any of these symptoms: 

• Acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense. 
• Blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue.
• A rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it.
• Difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast.