Abseil 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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Ripon CrossFit gym to host 12-hour charity fitness challenge

A CrossFit gym in Ripon will be hosting a 12-hour fitness challenge for charity later this month.

CrossFit Ripon will be running the event on Friday, December 29 in aid of children’s hospice Martin House.

Business owner Michael Meegan, 42, said:

“The charity resonates with quite a lot of people.

“A few of our members have brothers and sisters who have been cared for there.”

The gym will host a CrossFit workout every hour from 8am to 8pm.

A live DJ will be on hand to motivate volunteers, who plan to complete a marathon (42km, or 26 miles) on a rowing or skiing machine and 100km on an exercise bike.

While participants can choose how many workouts they want to attend, 12 people have signed up to do all 12 workouts.

The youngest volunteer is 18 and the oldest is 67. The diverse range of volunteers reflects how everyone is on their own fitness journey.

Ripon CrossFit was opened earlier this year.

Michael said:

“The journey is better than the destination. That’s the magic of it.”

Michael, who currently serves in the Royal Engineers, is a long-time fitness enthusiast.

He opened the gym with his wife Sarah this year and will finish his time in the army next April.

Martin House, in Wetherby, helps children and their families cope with life-limiting conditions and bereavement.

You can support Ripon CrossFit’s fundraiser online.

If you’re interested in attending the gym, email info@crossfitripon.com.

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Fundraiser set up for well-known Harrogate woman who has died

A fundraiser has been launched for a well-known Harrogate woman who has died.

Helen McCallum, who was described as a “wonderful member of the community”, died on Saturday.

She had worked as bar manager at Harrogate Hockey Club and volunteered at Harrogate Cat Rescue during the covid lockdowns.

A fundraiser has been set up by Mandy Lotts to help give Helen “the wonderful send off that she deserves”.

At the time of writing, the page had raised £2,556.

In a social media post, Harrogate Hockey Club said:

“Helen has been at the club for several years, greeting everyone who walked into the bar with open arms and a smile.

“Her passion and dedication to her role led to the transformation of Hockey Saturdays and an increase in social activity at the club.”

Harrogate Cat Rescue said:

“Helen offered to help. All through the lockdowns, she home checked everyone who applied for a cat or kitten. 

“She was professional and thorough and helped me enormously in preparing all the paperwork necessary to run a rescue. Helen only retired from the role when she no longer had time – due to work commitments.”

For more information, visit the GoFundMe page here.

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Ripon school ‘heartbroken’ over death of six-year-old pupil

A Ripon school has said it is “heartbroken” over the death of six-year-old pupil Ihor Bartienieva in a three-vehicle crash last weekend.

Ihor and his mother Daria Bartienieva, 35, and Daria’s step-daughter, Anastasiia Bartienieva, 15, were killed in a collision that involved a double decker bus.

All three were from Ukraine and living in Ripon.

Police are still appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened on the A61 between South Stainley and Ripley at about 2.20pm on Sunday.

The Federation of Holy Trinity Schools has issued a statement which said staff and pupils “were heartbroken to learn of the tragic death” of infant school pupil Ihor on their return to school this week. It added:

“Ihor joined our year 1 class after arriving from Ukraine with his mum and sister and he soon became a popular member of the Trinity community.

“Ihor had boundless energy and enthusiasm; pupils were drawn to his chatty, charismatic character.”

Tracey Calland-Booke, Ihor’s year 1 class teacher, said:

“Ihor will be remembered by his classmates as a funny, chatty little boy who was loved by us all. We were all in awe of this little spark of joy who really brought something special to our class.”

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Executive headteacher Sue Sanderson said:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Ihor’s family and friends. This devastating event has affected everyone within our community, and we are all now attempting to come to terms with our loss together.

“Staff and pupils have visited the poignant reflection space created by Holy Trinity Church to light a candle, say a prayer and share our happy memories of such a special little boy and his family. We will continue to seek support and comfort in our church and school community.”

£20,000 raised for surviving Liza

A fundraising appeal has now raised more than £20,000 for Daria’s sole remaining daughter, Liza, who was not involved in the collision.

Business have been rallying round to support the cause, with the city’s Black Swan pub on Westgate holding a fundraising event on Saturday.

The event, which starts at 2.30pm, will include live music by Freddie Clearly and a raffle. Further details are here.

Harrogate butchers supports £70,000 appeal for man with ‘life-threatening’ illness

A Harrogate butchers is supporting a £70,000 bid to raise money for a friend’s potentially life-saving medical treatment.

Country Butchers, on Leeds Road, is running the appeal in aid of Mick Wood, who has been diagnosed with chlyothorax — a rare condition where lymph formed in the digestive system accumulates in the chest cavity.

Mick underwent an operation in September last year but his symptoms have worsened and his wife Marion is now raising funds for private treatment abroad.

Marion said in a fundraiser post her husband has lost 32kg in the last year and was malnourished due to his illness.

She added the condition was “potentially life-threatening” but treatment abroad offered hope. She said:

“He has been tested for cancers and cirrhosis with nothing found.

“The consultant that is treating him has said that there is not a lot more that can be done for him here because they lack the knowledge to deal with such a rare and complex case.”

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A GoFundMe fundraiser has so far raised more than £5,000,

As part of the appeal, Country Butchers has launched a raffle with tickets priced £5 each to win a family Christmas dinner worth £150.

The butchers said it set up the raffle to help get Mick “back to his good old self”.

All funds raised from the campaign will go towards Mick’s appeal.

For more information on the raffle, visit the Country Butchers Facebook page. You can also donate on Marion’s GoFundMe page.

Air ambulance receives £26,000 from Knaresborough tractor run

A life-saving charity has been awarded a cheque for £26,000 from the organisers of the Knaresborough tractor run.

The sum was the total amount raised from this year’s event, which saw 374 tractors parade 25 miles around Harrogate, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and numerous points in between last month.

Organisers visited the Yorkshire Air Ambulance station at Nostell in West Yorkshire on Saturday to hand over the donation.

The tractor run fundraises for the charity each year because of its value to rural communities.

Participants pay to take part and spectators are encouraged to make donations.

One of the organisers, Tom Fawcett, said:

“We can’t thank everybody enough for the amount of support and donations that we’ve received.

“The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is an invaluable service, that in this economic climate, needs our support more than ever.”

Knaresborough tractor run Yorkshire air ambulance

Tractor power will fund the air ambulance’s mission. Pic: Rachael Fawcett Photography

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Harrogate school raises £6,500 in 1,000-mile cycling challenge

A Harrogate primary school cycled 1,000 miles in 24 hours to raise £6,560 — triple its fundraising target.

Teachers, pupils and parents from Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School set off on a virtual race from John o’ Groats to Land’s End with the target of raising £2,000 to fund playground improvements.

Riders took 15-minute turns on one of four stationary bikes in the school hall, with quick changeovers to ensure the pedals never stopped moving.

Video messages of support were received from professional cyclist Lizzie Deignan and Olympic gold medallist, Jonny Brownlee.

The first day finished with a disco ride in the dark, complete with lights and motivational music until 9.00pm and riders were back on the saddles again by 6.00am to continue the virtual journey.

An online fundraising page and cash sponsorships have so far generated £6,560.

Hampsthwaite school

Hampsthwaite school

Ms Ross with the head girl and head boy

Headteacher Amy Ross said:

“I am so proud of Team Hampsthwaite and what we have collectively achieved in these past two days.

“Every child has been involved and had the chance to take a turn on the bike and the support from parents and family has been incredible.

“I am overwhelmed by the amount of money that we have raised; it will make a tremendous difference towards improving the playground, which all pupils will get to enjoy.”

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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.

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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.

Hospital fundraiser extraordinaire Andy Wilkinson steps down after 45 years

A fundraiser who has helped raise more than £2.7m for Harrogate District Hospital has stood down as chairman of a volunteer group.

The Friends of Harrogate Hospital have generated more than £2.7m over the last 56 years to buy thousands of pieces of equipment for the hospital that could not be purchased through the NHS budget.

Wing commander Andy Wilkinson has been an active volunteer with the friends for nearly 45 years, with the majority of years as the group’s chairman.

Mr Wilkinson has been at the heart of everything from coffee mornings to major events like the Big Picnic.  He said:

“The generosity of everyone has made it thoroughly enjoyable.

“We’ve done our best to raise money to help people.  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing it and I hope it can go on from strength to strength.”

In recent years, the friends have funded relatives’ rooms on the children’s wards so parents of sick children have somewhere to stay, as well as on the intensive therapy unit and the stroke unit.

The group has also paid for a light sensory unit, a friends’ garden, and a paediatric outpatients waiting room.

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One of its biggest campaigns saw it raise £330,000 to house an MRI scanner in 2005. More than 1,000 patients have benefited from that every year since. Mr Wilkinson said:

“We’re a good news organisation. And it brings a boost to the staff, to be supported by local people. They know that everybody is backing them.

“We have a hospital that’s one of the best in the country. That’s down to the generosity of the people of Harrogate who have donated.”

Greatest achievement

Mr Wilkinson said his greatest achievement with the friends was helping to set up a volunteer scheme at the hospital, securing a grant in 2008 to employ someone for three years to recruit volunteers.

He has now passed the reins to new chairman John Fox but will stay on as a volunteer. He said:

“I know that the friends are in good hands, John Fox has been a trustee of the friends before we merged with Harrogate Hospital Community Charity, and has been a very supportive volunteer for many years.  John is busy reorganising the voluntary group for the future.”

Mr Fox said:

“We thank Andy for his enduring commitment and dedication to the Friends over many years.  He was also a founder governor of the foundation trust.  His support for Harrogate hospital is just amazing.  I know that the staff have really appreciated his work over many years.  He will be a hard act to follow.”

Sarah Armstrong, chair of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said:

“We are extremely grateful for all Andy’s fundraising efforts over many years and his commitment to supporting Harrogate Hospital in making a difference for our patients.”

For more information about the Friends of Harrogate Hospital, contact friendsofhdft@gmail.com

Volunteer sets up artisan market in Knaresborough to support food waste charity

A monthly artisan market will raise funds for a food waste and food poverty charity covering Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Held at Gracious Street Methodist Church, Knaresborough Artisan Market will have stalls across three rooms featuring independent traders.

It will raise funds for Resurrected Bites, which runs community groceries and pay-as-you-feel cafes in the same venue and in Harrogate.

The market runs from 10am to 3pm tomorrow, Saturday, with more dates booked in for Saturday, November 5 and Saturday December 3.

As well as refreshments and cakes, traders will be selling jewellery, art, crystals, gifts, candles, beauty products, vegan and eco products, and more.

The market is being organised by Resurrected Bites volunteer Jade Lapsley.

The charity’s chief executive Michelle Hayes said:

“We have challenging times ahead to meet the demand for our services. In order to run our community groceries and give-as-you-can community cafes and shops, we still need to run various fundraising activities to help cover our costs.

“One of those activities is the Starbeck Artisan Market. This is a great opportunity to support the local economy and start Christmas shopping in addition to helping Resurrected Bites raise much needed funds.”

Earlier this month, Resurrected Bites appealed for more corporate supporters in order to ensure it could continue to support vulnerable people through the cost of living crisis.

While it said it has funding in place for the next six months, the amount of food waste being donated had dropped and the charity was having to buy in more in order to meet demand.

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