Rossett Sports Centre in Harrogate is to begin repairing its 3G artificial football pitch after achieving its £10,000 fundraising target.

The appeal was launched last month after the pandemic affected finances and delayed the repairs.

The pitch is usually open to 1,000 people each week but covid meant this number was massively reduced.

But a successful crowdfunding campaign means work can begin.

In a statement on the fundraising page, the centre manager, Josh Lyon, said the total cost of the repairs is £160,000.

He added the pitch was set to reopen to the public later this month:

“A massive thank you for your support in helping us reach our £10,000 target. This money is going directly towards the 3G pitch replacement project. Works on the new pitch is imminently commencing and the new state of the art facility should be back open to the local community in late June.

“Your support is massively appreciated by Rossett and your local sporting community.”

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The current total is nearing £11,000. Mr Lyon has said any extra funding would go towards new goals.

The sports centre on Pannal Ash Road is run by Rossett School and is open to the public outside of school hours, seven days a week.

Its full-sized 3G pitch provides space for both five-a-side groups and full team matches.

A cyclist from Harrogate is preparing to embark on a mammoth challenge this month to raise money in memory of his aunt.

Simon Gregory will attempt to cycle 288 miles in just 24 hours to raise £10,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Simon’s aunt, Reverend Ruth Scott, died from cancer in February 2019.

She was a presenter on the BBC Radio 2 show Pause for Thought, along with Terry Wogan and Chris Evans for 25 years, and was one of the first female vicars.

Simon said he was inspired by his aunt’s charitable nature and her similar physical challenges; she once cycled from Rome to Jerusalem with little training.

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Last weekend Simon held a fundraiser in Harrogate and raised nearly £1,000 in one day.

He said of the money raised;

“It would cover specialist care nurses, and support for others whose loved ones have cancer. Macmillan provided my aunt and her husband huge support and we couldn’t have got through it without them.”

Macmillan’s funding has been cut drastically over the course of the pandemic, receiving £10 million less over the past year than in previous years.

His journey is mapped out from Harrogate to Southampton on June 18.  Besides his brother Paul, who plans to meet him at regular checkpoints, he will make the journey on his own.

Simon will have to cycle an average of almost 12.5 miles an hour for 24 hours to hit his target.

He has several strategies in place to ensure safety during his journey, including regular 10-minute intervals for drinking and a strict rule of consuming 75 grams of carbohydrates every hour.

Donations to Simon Gregory’s fundraiser can be made by clicking here.

Three men from Harrogate are running three marathons in three days this weekend to raise money in memory of their friend James Hindmarsh.

James died aged 24 in April after being diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma.

Henry Bartle, Ollie Ward and Jeremy Butterfield will run 26.2 miles on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to raise funds for Sarcoma UK, which helps people with all forms of sarcoma cancers.

The three friends pledged to complete fundraising events for James’ medical treatment when he was alive and now that he has died they have vowed to continue.

James Hindmarsh

On Friday and Saturday, the trio will run along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal from Bradley in Craven to the centre of Leeds. On Sunday, they will complete four laps of Harrogate, finishing on West Park.

Henry said:

“We’re nervous and apprehensive but excited to get going now. It’s all for James, it’s all in his memory. He would have wanted us to go ahead with it. Sarcoma UK is such an underfunded charity and the condition is so rare, there’s been little development in treatment since the 1980s.

“All the money is going towards research and development or new drugs. We want to raise awareness.”

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James’ cancer was so rare his family and friends had to look abroad for treatment. They now want to ensure Sarcoma UK has funds to continue researching treatment to help other families.

So far £30,000 has been pledged via the JustGiving page.

Three other friends have taken on other fundraising challenges in memory of James. Joe Braham skied through the night from Verbier in Switzerland to the summit of Mont Fort.

Luca Peterson and Harry Halsall completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks and the Lake District Three Peaks in two consecutive days.

A Ripon Grammar School student is planning to jump out of a plane at 10,000ft to raise money for a teenage suicide prevention charity.

Robyn Munday, who will complete the skydive on July 10, said:

“This is not something I would do without good reason.

“I have struggled with my mental health in my teenage years but have family and friends around me who are patient, compassionate, understanding, and loving – which has been just what I needed.

“However, not every young person is so lucky.”

The 17-year-old has set a fundraising target of £750 and is already more than half way there. She is covering the cost of the skydive herself.

The money will go to Papyrus, which is a national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide.

It provides confidential support and advice to young people through its helpline – Hopeline UK – and runs training programmes to teach suicide prevention skills to staff at schools, healthcare providers and local councils.

In 2017, more than 338,000 young people were referred to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), but fewer than a third received treatment within a year, according to the Local Government Association.

Robyn is a sixth-form student at Ripon Grammar School

Robyn added:

“This can leave young people feeling despondent and lonely, and ultimately let down and not cared about. That’s why I would like to do something to help those young people who don’t get the help they need.

“I’ve chosen to support the charity Papyrus, and so I’m doing this crazy skydive to help raise much-needed funds for them.

“I want to help ensure that more young people are able to talk and receive the help they deserve.”

To donate, visit Robyn’s JustGiving page and for more information about the charity visit papyrus-uk.org.

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An appeal has been launched to raise money for the family of a young Bilton boy with a rare life-threatening illness.

Archie Flintoft, 5, has Diamond-Blackfan anaemia, an incurable condition whereby his bone marrow doesn’t create the red blood cells he needs to survive.

Only 1,000 people worldwide have the condition and Archie needs to go to Leeds General Infirmary for blood transfusions every three weeks just to keep him alive. He also has to travel to London for a special check-up two or three times a year.

Although treatment costs are covered by the NHS, mum Vicky had to leave her job to take care of Archie. Family visits to St Mary’s Hospital in London can set them back up to £1,000 each time because of transport and accommodation costs.

Two years ago mum Vicky set up a Facebook group called Archie’s Army, where followers can keep up with what Archie’s doing and help out with fundraising projects. But since the covid pandemic it’s been difficult to raise money.

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Mum Vicky says young Archie takes everything in his stride:

“When he has his transfusions he has to sit still for six hours, and that’s not easy for a five-year old. So I get him a magazine with a little toy, and that’s his treat. He has lots of videos, games, and a tablet, and we eat snacks as well.”

The current fundraising bid was launched yesterday as part of a community appeal led by Andrew Hart and Asma Ola, owners of the Red Box, a post office and gift shop on Harrogate’s King Edward Drive.

For every pound donated, Post Office Ltd has agreed to add another pound, and Red Box will donate two pounds on top of this. Donations have already reached a total of £800, including the top-ups.

Vicky said:

“We’re absolutely blown away by everyone’s kindness and support. I don’t have the words to say how much it means to us that people are behind us to provide the best care we can for our boy.”

The family aims to get Archie’s hospital fund to £3,000. Any further money received will be given to DBA UK, the charity which supports people with the condition and their families.

Donations can be made in person at the Red Box newsagent in Bilton.

Two fundraising pages have been set up to help families whose homes were damaged by a major fire in the Harrogate district in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The blaze began in a semi-detached house in Minskip and caused 100% fire damage to the first floor and smoke damage throughout.

The neighbouring property is also reported to have extensive smoke and fire damage.

People are rallying round to support the two families, so far raising almost £7,000 to go towards new furniture and appliances.

Two gofundme pages have been set up. The first was set up on Sunday by a friend of the owner of the house where the fire started, and has already raised £6,633.

The second was set up yesterday for the neighbour who has had to throw away a lot of belongings.

Both families are currently living elsewhere but are in need of donations to replace lost items.

Numerous posts have been made on local Facebook groups to encourage donations and people have offered bedding, children’s clothing and some furniture.

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North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service sent three crews to the address on Roecliffe Drive just after 1am Sunday morning.

It believed the fire was caused by a candle in one of the bedrooms, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Nobody was injured but the fire left the home in which it started uninhabitable.

A spokeswoman for the fire service told the Stray Ferret it was fortunate nobody was hurt.

Minskip is about a mile from Boroughbridge.

Ripon’s Oxfam shop is reopening for the first time in more than a year today.

The charity’s premises on Fishergate has been shut since the first covid lockdown last March.

Walter de Buck, area manager for Oxfam’s retail outlets in North and East Yorkshire, told the Stray Ferret:

“It has been frustrating being closed for this extended period of time. We are pleased to be reopening in Ripon and thank our supporters for their patience.”

Doors will open at 9am.

Newly appointed shop manager Arlene O’Hara said:

“We are raring to go and excited that the day has finally come.”

Ready to reopen – Victoria Smith, manager of The Salvation Army shop

Among her tasks will be to recruit a team of volunteers willing to lend a hand.

Mr de Buck explained:

“The principal reason for being closed for so long is because many of the volunteers we rely upon have been shielding during the pandemic.”

Anybody considering volunteering can email oxfamshopf0620@oxfam.org.uk or call 01765 601441.

Also on Fishergate, Victoria Smith, manager of The Salvation Army charity shop, has been putting the finishing touches to her window displays.

She said:

“We have received 1.5 tonnes of spring and summer clothing and have been putting selected goods out on the rails in readiness for reopening.”

The donated items have come from clothing banks in and around Ripon and the surrounding area.

Following the pre-Christmas opening of the Martin House store, the city now has 10 charity shops.

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Each plays a role in raising much-needed funds for causes ranging from end-of-life care for children and adults to supporting disabled people and the treatment of animals.

A Harley Street surgeon has offered a Harrogate mother breast reduction surgery for free if the money she raised goes to charity.

Kelly Michaud, from Harrogate, started fundraising for her breast reduction surgery last month after suffering with back and shoulder pain for years.

The 26 year old mother has 34H breasts. She has received unwanted attention from a young age and had to change several outfits to avoid “showing them off”.

After years of being rejected surgery on the NHS she decided, as a last resort, to go private.

To date Kelly has raised over £10,000 for the surgery after several media outlets, local and national, covered the story.

Since then, Dr Dan Marsh from a private Harley Street clinic has offered to complete the surgery for free with the money raised going to breast cancer charity.

A BBC article added that Mrs Michaud will be paying for some appointment and hospital fees totalling £2,500. The free operation is set to go ahead in September.

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Previously Mrs Michaud said the reduction would change her life in so many ways and allow her to play with her children without feeling pain.

She is also hoping to raise awareness on the issue and has started a petition for breast reductions to be more accessible to women.

Friends and celebrities have rallied round to raise £40,000 in a matter of days to help a young Harrogate man fund life-saving medical treatment.

In April last year, James Hindmarsh was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. Friends and family assured him they’d stand by him all the way.

Since then James, 24, has undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

However, this NHS treatment has not worked, which has spurred friends of James, who attended Ashville College, to start fundraising to pay for private treatment abroad.

Six of his best friends have pledged to complete a number of challenges, including running three marathons in three days, the Yorkshire three peaks and a ski tour. To donate click here.

James with best friend Henry Bartle (left) and his mum and brother (right).

James’ work colleagues at financial services company the DSG Group have set up a Justgiving page, bringing the overall total raised so far to more than £40,000.

James’ cancer is particularly rare in young adults and finding a clinic that can help is proving difficult. However James and those around him are determined to keep going.

James is not currently receiving any treatment and is suffering physically but continues to stay mentally strong.

One of James’ best friends, Henry Bartle, who has known him since the pair went to primary school in Cundall, said:

“James is very, very funny. He’s just an all-round amazing guy. He’s been putting on a very brave face for the past year and just takes each day as it comes.

“He’s currently fighting each day and we want to give him the best chance of living.”

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The fundraising pages were only set up days ago and has generated a rapid response. A number of celebrities, including former football manager Harry Redknapp and journalist Piers Morgan have shared the fundraising page on social media or reached out to help.

Henry added:

“It’s just gone crazy, we never expected this.”

Care charity Harrogate Neighbours has hosted a walk and talk memory walk to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society.

Tenants, staff, relatives and friends of Harrogate Neighbours, which provides housing and meals for older people, took part in the walk on Saturday.

The walkers, who ranged in age from 18 months to 95 years, completed a combined 36 miles by performing 144 laps of The Cuttings, which is an extra care housing scheme run by Harrogate Neighbours.

Nearly half of Harrogate Neighbours’ tenants and residents live with Alzheimer’s, which is why the event was held in support of Alzheimer’s Society.

The walk encouraged those suffering with social isolation to talk to others.

Sue Cawthray, chief executive of Harrogate Neighbours, said:

“We’ve only recently been allowed to welcome children outdoors on site, so it was wonderful to see the smiles and interaction of the tenants.

“Running an event like this is a great way to support not only a charity close to all of our hearts, but the wellbeing of our residents, tenants and staff by bringing everyone together to walk and talk in a covid-safe way.”

The group reached 36 miles on Saturday and ranged in age from 18 months to 95 years.

Further donations are expected to come in this week. To support the organisation click here.

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