Staff at Harrogate District Hospital have raised money for charity by walking, running and cycling the distance from Harrogate to Wellington in New Zealand.

They started the challenge in February and walked 22,866 kilometres by Easter, raising £1,600 in the process. That is £400 more than the original target.

45 staff from the pharmacy department took part. They all tracked how far they had ran, walked and cycled each week and added up the total.

The money will go to Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity. It supports staff, services and patients at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.

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Elizabeth Gill, pharmacy support worker and organiser, said:

“At a time when we are all stretched thin and covid has meant we can’t get together outside of work, we wanted to come together to challenge ourselves while raising money for our hospital charity.

“We decided to do the ultimate challenge and get to Wellington in New Zealand as this is the furthest capital from Harrogate and also a country which is covid-free!

“I’m so proud of everyone and how hard we’ve all worked. Our fundraising total is over £1600 which is incredible!”

Yvonne Campbell, head of charity and business development project manager, said:

“Everyone at Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity is blown away by the amount raised by our pharmacy team and the effort they’ve put in to supporting us.

“Recently, money raised by our supporters funded some portable DVD players for inpatients to use to watch films on while they’re in hospital, so the money they raise will go a long way to supporting services, patients and fellow colleagues at the trust.”

Victoria Shopping Centre has installed a wishing well for Saint Michael’s Hospice. They hope to raise £25,000 to support the hospice’s end of life care for the terminally ill.

The centre has raised £11,192 for Saint Michael’s and hope that the wishing well will encourage more shoppers to donate. Tony Collins, the hospice’s chief executive, says he is “delighted” with the initiative and the Victoria Centre’s support.

“We hope shoppers at the Centre enjoy making their wishes, particularly in the knowledge that their kind donations go directly to help local families living with terminal illness and bereavement. Each ‘wish’ will make a real difference to our work.”

The Hospice’s current running costs are around £6 million per year, which averages to £15,000 per day. It receives much of their funding through donations, fundraisers and sales from their eight Harrogate based charity shops.

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The Victoria Centre manager, James White, says they “couldn’t be happier” to support the hospice.

“Saint Michaels Hospice is a charity that we couldn’t be happier to support. Harrogate shoppers are well known for their generous contributions and compassion for others, so I’m sure this wishing well will be another success.It’s a fun way to donate to a highly worthy cause, as well as a great initiative to welcome back our shoppers to the centre.”

The well is located on the first floor, between Next and Toyland.

Saint Michael’s Hospice and Cancer Research UK‘s charity shops in the Harrogate district will be opening their doors next week as they try to recover from financial losses during the pandemic.

The two charities rely heavily on money raised from the shops and are eager to reopen once more.

For local charity Saint Michael’s, most of its shops will reopen on Monday, while those in Boroughbridge, Knaresborough, Jennyfield Drive and 149 King’s Road in Harrogate are reopening on Tuesday.

Donations can be dropped off on Tuesdays and Fridays each week but customers are advised to call the shop beforehand.

The donation drop-off point on Hookstone Wood Road is no longer in operation.

Saint Michael’s chief executive Tony Collins said:

“We’re pleased that our shops will now begin to reopen their doors from next Monday, giving those across the Harrogate district the opportunity to purchase a range of preloved items.

“Stringent health and safety measures will be in place in each of our shops, with the safety of our community, staff and volunteers at the forefront of our reopening plans.”

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The Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon Cancer Research UK stores also hope to welcome back plenty of customers to boost their finances.

The charity has predicted its fundraising income will decline by £300million over the next three years, due to the pandemic.

Ripon’s Cancer Research UK shop is looking forward to welcoming back shoppers

Anticipating a staycation boom, Cancer Research UK is asking for donations of men, women and children’s summer clothing. Any items can be dropped off in store.

Lisa Millett, Cancer Research UK spokesperson, said:

“Covid has hit us hard. That’s why we’re calling on everyone to please bag up and bring in any unwanted items.

“Right now, we need quality clothing, shoes, homewares, accessories and books to help keep our tills – and bargain hunters – busy. Most important of all, the sale of these items helps to ensure we can keep making progress for people with cancer.”

Yorkshire Cancer Research is to reopen its shop in Knaresborough next week when covid restrictions ease.

The charity shop, on Market Place, will reopen on April 14 at 9am, two days after non-essential shops are allowed to trade again.

The shop helps the charity, which is based in Harrogate, raise funds for cancer research in Yorkshire. Its mission is for 2,000 more people to survive cancer every year in Yorkshire.

Covid measures, such as hand sanitisers, social distancing and PPE worn by staff and volunteers will operate.

The shop will start accepting donations once its reopened, by appointment only. The Harrogate donation centre is still closed for drop-offs.

Dr Kathryn Scott, chief executive at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said:

“Along with many other charities, we have experienced a significant loss of income during the coronavirus pandemic.

“To try to reduce this loss, we acted quickly to start selling donated goods online.

“We are thankful to all those who continued to support us by donating second-hand belongings and searching for bargains in our online marketplaces during lockdown.”

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The shop will be open Wednesday to Saturday between 9am and 4pm and Sunday from 10am to 4pm. It will be closed Monday and Tuesday.

Yorkshire Cancer Research’s other shops in Northallerton and Tadcaster will also re-open.

Time Together is a small charity based within the Harrogate district which helps autistic people and those with additional needs to live independently.

The charity was setup in 1995 after a number of institutions closed. People with disabilities or additional needs were left “scattered” across the Harrogate district struggling to adjust to a new community.

Time Together was set up to bring people together, over the years it has evolved into the charity it is today offering one-to-one and group sessions to ensure people get all the support they need.

This could be helping them with their weekly shop or giving them the space to have a good catch up with friends.

Time Together volunteers will support clients with day to day tasks such as cooking.

Since the pandemic, the charity has only been able to hold a small number of group sessions online. One to one sessions have continued.

The aim of the charity is to support their client’s wellbeing by encouraging them to engage in their local communities.

The charity works with 40 clients, assisting them in various ways and encouraging them to socialise with other people in the community.

The charity is currently looking for local businesses that could offer volunteering or work experience placements for their clients. Service manager, Louise Terzza, said all of the people they support would be a great asset to local businesses.

Louise added:

“Some people need us for one hour a week others for much more, our aim is to offer our clients whatever support they need. There are lots of barriers for people with disabilities and we want to help them overcome that.”

The charity works with around 40 clients supporting them in various ways.

The pandemic has come with its challenges for the charity. People are feeling isolated after adjusting to life with limited socialising.

Louise said coming out of lockdown will be “challenging and positive” for clients, many have used the time to create their own goals that the charity will help them achieve.

All their fundraising events have also been cancelled, taking around £12,000 away from the charity. It is now relying on local grants and donations.

The charity is hopeful green space will become available soon.

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As lockdown eases the charity wants to use the outdoors as much as possible to keep their clients safe. They are currently on waiting lists for an allotment to teach clients new skills and work on their mental health.

To donate to Time Together, you can click here.

Pinewoods Conservation Group is rallying support once again to prevent Harrogate Spring Water from expanding its bottling plant into Rotary Wood.

The water company, which is now owned by multinational firm Danone, was granted outline planning permission in 2017 to expand into Rotary Wood in the Pinewoods.

Danone recently bid to vary the terms of this by increasing the size of the bottling plant into the woodlands. Harrogate’s planning committee rejected this in January after almost 400 people objected.

Many objectors were jubilant at the outcome but the original outline permission in 2017 still applies.

Pinewoods Conservation Group now suspects it will be brought back to the council’s planning committee before May and warns that, if approved, will result in “massive ecological loss”.

Although it has outline permission, Danone would need to go through a second stage of the application process, known as reserved matters, to ratify details such as the appearance of the bottling plant and the felling of trees in Rotary Wood.

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A document prepared on behalf of Danone last year said the reserved matters application “is committed to retaining where possible as many trees on-site and relocating others”.

It adds that additional trees will be planted within Rotary Wood to replace those that would be lost.

A spokesman for Pinewoods Conservation Group, however, described the application as a “massive backwards step” from the one that was refused in January. He added:

“There is no offer of any compensatory land. That is a massive backwards step from the previous rejected application.

“If approved, this would result in a massive ecological loss for Harrogate and the Pinewoods. As such we are encouraging our members and supporters to formally object to this application as soon as possible.”

Harrogate Spring Water declined to comment.

Harrogate is to get its own chocolate factory cafe this summer staffed by people promised to be more talented than Willy Wonka.

The Harrogate Chocolate Factory cafe is due to open at the end of May in the former Big Red Bike Company building, near the Odeon cinema.

Learning disability charity Harrogate Skills 4 Living Centre (HS4LC), which is behind the initiative, has spent £100,000 renovating the building.

The charity, which was set up in 2010, helps adults with learning disabilities and autism.

Many of the people it supports have been unable to get work experience during the pandemic.

As a result, HS4LC set up its own business making chocolate in the kitchen of its offices on North Park Road, Harrogate.

Demand grew quickly and the charity sold 500 chocolate hampers before Christmas.

This encouraged it to set up a cafe as a social enterprise, selling chocolate made in the chocolate ‘factory’ beneath its offices.

Currently the Harrogate Chocolate Factory only sells a 70% dark chocolate bar made from Peruvian cocoa beans but a vegan milk chocolate bar is in the works.

Michael Horn, enterprise manager for the chocolate project, told the Stray Ferret:

“There are a few reasons why you can feel good if you buy this chocolate. It supports charity, it’s sustainable and it doesn’t have any nasty allergens.

“Coronavirus has made it a tough year for everyone. We are still here to help young adults with learning difficulties.

“Our charity is there to be like the final step to help our clients get into the world of work. It gives them another choice.”

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Hadyn Moorby-Davies, chief executive of HS4LC, said:

“It will be fantastic to see the cafe when it opens, I am really chuffed with how it has been working so far.

“The students are also really excited about it. The Harrogate Chocolate Factory has been in planning for a couple of years.

“We know that York has a strong connection to chocolate but why can’t Harrogate have that as well? Maybe this could be the start.”

This Harrogate district charity has offered support to local people since war times and says it will continue to be there for the next 100 years.

Vision Support Harrogate District (VSHD), a sight loss charity, is celebrating is 100th anniversary this month.

It was set up in 1921 to help soldiers blinded during the First World War. Over the century it says it has diversified to meet peoples needs.

It now has a drop-in centre in Harrogate for regular eye clinics and classes. It also organises satellite meetings in Ripon and Pateley Bridge for those living rurally to still feel supported.

Members of the charity getting involved in a chair caning class.

The charity’s staff and volunteers work with anyone who has recently been diagnosed with an eye condition, is registered as sight impaired or needs help for someone they know who is experiencing sight loss.

During the pandemic, the day centre had to close and instead the team have been ringing members as often as they can and kept them up to date with newsletters.

The charity’s director Tanya Stimpson knows first-hand the impact of sight loss after becoming a member 24 years ago. She said:

“It’s been a difficult year but we’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of local people. We are so grateful to everyone involved in helping our organisation, not just at this challenging time, but over the last 100 years.

From our volunteers and trustees to all the local people and businesses who raise vital funds for us, we couldn’t have reached this amazing milestone without you.”

The charity works with Harrogate District Hospital’s eye clinic and low vision clinic patients through a referral service.

Charity members after their line dancing class – even the guide dog joined in!

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Founded on February 4 1921, a year after Parliament passed The Blind Persons Act, the charity began the Harrogate Blind Association. With Ripon being affiliated in 1922.

Ms Stimpson added:

“In some ways, what visually impaired people need and what we are doing now has not changed much in a century. We understand how frightening and lonely it can be for people experiencing sight loss, and we are here to help, support and advise them and their families as much as we can.”

In the 1930’s the members would sell what they had made in the charity shop.

It changed its name to Vision Support Harrogate District in 2016. It now has regular contact with over 300 visually impaired people, is a point of contact for 400 more and makes around 1,000 outreach visits each year.

Membership and most services are free to join.

Henshaws Arts and Crafts Centre has been awarded the first of 12 donations made by a commercial nursery in the Harrogate district.

Johnsons of Whixley has donated £150 worth of winter interest plants to the charity’s sensory garden in Knaresborough.

Henshaws provides vocational training, including art and horticulture workshops, for people with a wide range of both learning and physical disabilities.

The nursery hopes its donation will bring a splash of colour to anyone using the centre during the pandemic.

Johnsons is giving away 12 donations to Yorkshire charities this year as part of its centenary celebrations. Henshaws is the first recipient.

The plants donated include hamamelis, skimmia, sarcococca and helleborus.

Gemma Young, fundraising manager at Henshaws, said:

“We were so pleased to hear Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre were the first winners and can’t wait to see the blooms in their new home.

“Lorna and her team at Johnsons of Whixley were instrumental in the creation of the beautiful sensory garden at the centre a couple of years ago, and their continued support means such a lot to the community here.”

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Eleanor Richardson, marketing manager of Johnsons, said:

“2020 was a challenging year for many charities, including Henshaws, who rely heavily on donations to survive.

“It’s great to support Henshaws once again, we hope our plants spread cheer amongst staff, students and visitors for many years to come.”

At the start of the pandemic, Johnsons donated hundreds of plants to local villages and spent £5,000 in Whixley, the village where it is based, to restore a stained glass window in the church.

The much-loved Pinewoods in Harrogate is looked after by a group of dedicated volunteers wanting to preserve the area and make it accessible to all.

Set up in 2002 the Pinewoods Conservation Group group has around 100 volunteers working to keep the Pinewoods a place everyone can enjoy. That may be for their daily dog walk or as a meeting point for a flask of tea with a friend.

The group works to maintain and conserve the 96 acres of Harrogate woodland, that can be found between the Valley Gardens and Harlow Carr Gardens.

The volunteers have been preserving the woods for nearly 20 years.

One of its founding members, Geoff Scurrah, visits the Pinewoods every morning to fill the bird feeders and walk his dog. He is a committed member of the group and a lover of the outdoors.

Mr Scurrah, along with other members, works hard to protect the natural habitats of wildlife in the Harrogate area. He said:

“What we wanted to do was to make the woods accessible to a greater cross-section. I got involved because I’m a country lad and I have an interest in the great outdoors.”

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Recently, it has taken a stand against proposed plans to build on an area of the woodland known as Rotary Wood.

It fought against Harrogate Spring Water’s plans to expand its bottling plant from 0.77 hectares to 0.94 hectares this would have destroyed public woodland planted by local families in the area of Pinewoods.

The decision was rejected by Harrogate Borough Council last month.

Improving the footpaths in the woodlands was one of the main aims for the charity to make it accessible to all.

The fight to stop the bottling plant’s expansion might have given the group a higher public profile but beyond this is a great deal of daily work by a dedicated team who turn out not regardless of the weather.

Since setting up nearly 20 years ago the group has reinstated footpaths to make the woods accessible to those with wheelchairs and prams.

Mr Scurrah said the charity has raised and spent around £80,000 on the woodland.

The group has also erected fingerposts and information boards for visitors. A binocular was also installed to show the ‘Pinewoods Panorama’, the group spent around £4,000 on this to show off wood’s views.

The group is continuously planting trees and bulbs around the site. It also encourages local wildlife to live in the woodland by fixing bird and bat boxes to the trees.

The Pinewoods Panorama was a big achievement for the charity.