A charity which offers counselling to people across the Harrogate district has launched a fundraising appeal so it can help more people struggling with their mental health through the coronavirus crisis.

With its One-Day Lockdown Challenge, Wellspring Therapy & Training is hoping to fund more professional counselling for people going through mental ill health and emotional distress.

The charity, which is based in Starbeck’s High Street, has been offering remote counselling throughout the crisis and said demand has begun to increase. Executive director Emily Fullarton said:

“It has started to creep up. We’re definitely getting more referrals now and I think it will pick up further.

“People are starting to realise this is going to go on for longer than they realised. Normal life isn’t going to happen. Schools reopening and people having a bit more time to think – when you’re in a crisis, you don’t tend to process it. It’s only when you are out of it you start to think about how it has affected you.”

The urgent fundraising appeal was kicked off by young supporter Joe Lepine, 13, who decided to stay awake for 24 hours. Aiming to raise £200, with support from friends and family he achieved ten times that sum.

Now Wellspring is inviting others to follow his example and challenge themselves to do something for 24 hours – always within social distancing guidelines. From giving up TV to doing star-jumps every hour, the charity says there is something suitable for anyone who wants to show their support.

Ripon butcher Phil Marley, was amazed by the generosity of a Stray Ferret reader who made a large donation after reading the story which went online on Saturday about the way he and his colleagues are helping to feed families and individuals trapped in poverty.

Mr Marley, who has owned and run his shop on North Street for 20 years, has been supplying free meat packs to people in dire need who live in Ripon and surrounding villages and in Saturday’s story, said everybody must pull together to tackle the crisis and what lies beyond for people currently in financial difficulties.

After receiving the call from the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, he told The Stray Ferret:

“Following the story, I received a phone call and I was amazed by the generosity shown towards people who are in less fortunate circumstances. This means that we can help even more of those in need.”

The free meat packs comprising items including a joint of lamb, pork or beef, sausages and mince beef, are worth up to £25 and are delivered on a weekly basis.

Prior to receiving the donation, Mr Marley received support in both kind and cash from community-minded suppliers and customers.

Phoebe, 10 and Hermonie, 7, live across the road from the new Nightingale hospital in Harrogate. After watching all the work over the last three weeks and joining in on the weekly clap for our carers, they decided they wanted to do something in return.

The Smith sisters came up with the idea of designing t-shirts to help raise money for charity. They have called their venture KidSmith and all money raised will go to HELP Harrogate.

“Our designs are to celebrate how the community has come together to help those in need and we hope they will be a reminder of some of the good things that happened during this really hard time. We chose HELP Harrogate to try and help them continue to support older and vulnerable members of the local community during the Covid 19 crisis.”

Mum, Phillipa Smith told the Stray Ferret that she is very proud of the girls willingness and desire to try and help:

“It’s so lovely to see how excited they are when orders come in for something they have designed themselves. We’re all really pleased to support HELP Harrogate, they are a fantastic local charity on the ground every day helping our community at this awful time.”

Organisers of Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life in Harrogate have said that the event will now go ahead in October after coronavirus forced them to cancel in July.

It means that the Race for Life 5K, 10k, Pretty Muddy, Pretty Muddy Kids on The Stray will no longer take place on Sunday 12 July.

The Race for Life event has now been rescheduled for Sunday 11 October.

Participants who had already signed up for the Race for Life event in July can transfer their entry to the new October date and will be contacted directly by the charity. If a participant is unable to make the new date they can request a refund or donate the entry fee.

Lisa Millett, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for North Yorkshire, said:

“While our priority is ensuring that people affected by cancer get the support and information they need during unprecedented times, we’re having to work quickly to understand the impact the pandemic will have on Cancer Research UK’s fundraising.

“Since it began, Race for Life has raised over £890m for Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has taken part and hope their support will continue throughout this time.”

Every day 83 people are diagnosed with cancer in Yorkshire but more people are surviving the disease now than ever before. Cancer survival in the UK has doubled since the early 1970s and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress.

Many of the scientists and researchers funded by Cancer Research UK are currently being redeployed to help in the fight against COVID-19. By helping to beat coronavirus, the charity can lessen the impact that this virus is having on the care of cancer patients.

The Prince’s Trust Coronavirus Support Hub for young people is to receive £2,705, after Ripon Grammar School Student Araminta Praud, organised a charity Colour Dash at the school.

With competitors coated in the colours of the rainbow at the end of the event, those taking part were reminded that there is continuing hope that COVID-19 will eventually be conquered.

Araminta, who lives in Boroughbridge, anticipated that the Colour Dash would raise £1,000, but with support from students, families and teachers within the school community, almost tripled that amount.

The final total of money raised from the event, which was staged in the Ripon Grammar grounds the day before the government brought in restrictions on mass gatherings, has now been calculated and 18-year-old Araminta told The Stray Ferret:

“My aim was to raise £1,000 and I didn’t expect to raise this much. In these testing times, I know the money is going to a great cause. The Prince’s Trust is helping young people with the new Coronavirus Support Hub, as well as continuing to provide opportunities through other programmes for those aged 11 to 30.”

Araminta (pictured above) who has worked with the Prince’s Trust previously through the school, arranged the Colour Dash as part of her extended project qualification. Support was received from a benevolent fund and Yorkshire-based Harron Homes, which paid for the non-toxic paint used to provide the rainbow’s end effect at the finishing line, where she handed out medals to those who took part.

The work of the Prince’s Trust is very important for Araminta, who said:

“They help underprivileged young people my age and give them the opportunities that I am lucky enough to have. I strongly believe everyone should have the same opportunities, no-one should be limited.”

The Ripon Grammar School community has been involved in a number of activities in a bid to beat coronavirus and support the NHS and healtchcare workers, including a YouTube video recorded by the Sladden family, whose son Ned, is a year 8 student at the school.

The musically-gifted family, whose vocal talents have been heard in the Ripon Cathedral choir, recorded their version of Take That’s hit song ‘Shine’ adapting the words to present an important stay at home, stay safe message.

Ripon Grammar has also given practical assistance to the NHS, by donating protective glasses and other equipment usually used in the school’s laboratories.

A tough year lies ahead for charities in the Harrogate district after swathes of fundraising events were cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

From supporters taking part in the London Marathon to their own community activities, charities rely heavily on numerous events in their annual calendars. 

Now, with almost every event being cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis, many are left wondering how they will meet their costs. 

Stephen Tongue, director of fundraising at Henshaws, said:

“We have got all our usual costs and additional costs of getting back-up staffing and deep cleaning areas – that’s quite expensive.

“It’s a challenging time. We do have some money coming in, but there’s a huge question mark over so many events.”

The charity held an art auction in early March and, even then, attendance was only around half of what was expected. Meanwhile, several upcoming fundraisers have been cancelled, including Knaresborough Beer Festival in May. 

Stephen is hopeful two outdoor events – a golf day at Rudding Park and a Yorkshire Three Peaks walk – will be able to take place in June and July, depending on government advice at the time. Its corporate donations, however, may also dwindle over the coming weeks as SMEs in the Harrogate district – a key source of support to Henshaws – struggle to find spare cash. 

To make up the shortfall and meet the additional needs of its students during the crisis, Henshaws has launched a new fundraising appeal.

For Open Arms Malawi, which sends around £500,000 per year out to its projects in the African nation, the worries are just as severe. Founded by Harrogate couple Neville and Rosemarie Bevis in 2000, it still has strong links with the town and relies on local people to contribute to its work with orphaned children. 

Ashville College has been a long-term supporter of Open Arms Malawi, sending students to volunteer there last summer

Fundraising manager Claire Collins said: “We were having a really good year for fundraising and just starting to look at new and different activities. Everything has been cancelled – all the challenge events, runs, and activities in the schools which support us. 

“We have two corporate partners who do trips to Malawi to see how funds are helping and donate significant amounts to us. They still want to support us, but without the trips it’s very difficult: when people see the work, they become really big advocates for what we do.” 

The charity has two infant homes, 10 nursery schools and five family homes for older children, as well as an outreach programme supporting families in the community. As yet, there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Malawi but, with high numbers elsewhere in Africa, all the homes and schools are taking extra precautions with hand washing and cleaning procedures. 

“HIV is still a big problem in Malawi, along with malnutrition,” said Claire. “Coronavirus is a huge risk on top of that. They’re taking it very seriously.” 

Claire has set up a new page on the charity’s website to keep supporters informed about the situation in Malawi. They are hoping supporters will still feel able to contribute, despite the difficulties being faced by many families across the Harrogate district.