Henshaws has launched a new fundraising initiative to raise vital funds after experiencing shortfalls it attributes to coronavirus.

Its new Henshaws Hundreds Challenge will begin on September 21. Participants are asked to pick a hundred of any distance they like and get sponsored for it.

It costs £5 to sign up and all fees and sponsors will go to the charity to help support those living with disabilities to build skills and develop confidence. Participants can choose to complete their 100 alone or within a group and are asked to use a mobile app to track their distance.

Gemma Young, Henshaws Fundraising Manager for Yorkshire, said

“Inclusivity is at the heart of the Henshaws Hundreds challenge. It’s possible to cover your chosen distance in a wheelchair, using a walking frame, walking on your hands, or by running, walking swimming or cycling. Plus we hope we’ll also attract a few fun entries with people perhaps skateboarding, hula-hooping, or pogo-sticking their challenge!”

The money raised through the challenge will begin to cover the funds lost during missed fundraising opportunities over lockdown.

Read more:

• No plans to close Henshaws College as its arts and craft centre and supported living services have to close. 
• A mother describes how she kept in contact with her daughter in assisted living as they both had to self-isolate. 

The charity’s recent financial struggles forced it to close its arts and craft centre in Knaresborough and cut its supported living services.

Henshaws was criticised at the time by people whose family members were in the supported living facility who accused the charity of financial mismanagement. The families also said there was a disconnect between upper management and those using the service.

The charity responded to these claims and said:

“These are extremely difficult decisions being taken in exceptional circumstances and our team will continue to support people across Yorkshire in every way we can.”

Girlguiding North Yorkshire West has launched an online auction to help raise funds to complete the build of its new residential centre.

The building of the Birk Crag Centre on the outskirts of Harrogate is in its final phase but needs an additional £30,000 to finish.

The new centre will include a hall seating 120 people, activity and meeting rooms, a dining room and kitchen, as well as residential accommodation sleeping 40.

An online auction was launched on Saturday and will remain open until August 8. People can bid on a range of items and experiences including a Grantley Hall spa day experience, family tickets to local attractions such as Harewood House and the Jorvik Viking Centre, as well as a two-hour career coaching session from Sea Light Development.

Read more: 

• Ripon charity set to grow despite coronavirus 
• Horticap receives help to transform gardens as well as build a new cafe and shop

County commissioner Angie Lockwood said:

“We’ve come so far in our journey to build Birk Crag Centre, but there’s a real risk we won’t get this last phase of the build completed. We need to raise an additional £30,000 for doors, internal walls, staircase and fire alarm, and the auction marks the start of our activity to achieve this.”

Artist’s impression of the new Birk Crag Centre.

The new centre will be used by girlguides from across the district as well as members of the local community. For more information and to make a bid visit https://www.jumblebee.co.uk/auction/detail/auction_id/4517/. 

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Harrogate Scrubbers gained 200 Facebook followers and raised more than £4,500 in its first 24 hours of existence. The group was formed in response a the nation wide shortage of scrubs and has committed to make 700 scrubs for staff working in the Harrogate area to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The project is being organised by Fran Taylor (above) , a teacher at St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate, in conjunction with the Foundation Trust that runs Harrogate District Hospital. Fran is coordinating fabric orders, pattern printing and delivery of the finished items from home.

“‘The community response has been genuinely humbling, with offers of help from people stuck at home, community groups, local companies and professional sewing groups. It has created a team atmosphere and real community spirit, actually giving people a purpose and the ability to feel that they are supporting the NHS both through staying at home, but also doing something productive while they are there”

Some of the scrubs sewn by volunteers ready to be delivered to the hospital

Yesterday Harrogate District Hospital made an appeal for community help in sourcing gowns after a national shortage- saying it needed to plan ahead to ensure supply and particularly needed long sleeve, water proof gowns. 

A fundraiser was set up online  with support coming from individuals as well as organisations including guesthouse association Accommodation Harrogate, and estate agents, Verity Frearson.

Earlier this week, Fran found herself borrowing the keys to her church in order to have the floor space to roll out, measure and cut the fabric. Once cut, it was parcelled up with patterns – printed by Enid Taylor on Cold Bath Road – and sent out to the volunteers.

“There’s really fantastic community support,” she said. “Any enthusiastic beginner can come and help us. We’re always looking for people to come and sew and support us with organising and getting supplies to our drop-off point.”

As well as blue scrubs, spare fabric is being used to create laundry bags

Local businesses are involved too in supplying fabric.  Harrogate interior design firm Furnish & Fettle are providing over 800m of fabric and getting the team to join in with sewing and deliveries.

Owner Eleanor Goddard said, ‘We are delighted to be able to do something to support the NHS and utilise the supplies we have in stock. This is a brilliant way for us to give something back and thank all those on the frontline.’

White Rose Sewing in Harrogate are also supporting the scheme and have offered to help with supplying some of the materials as has M&M Fabrics in Leeds’s Kirkgate market.

The volunteers will make scrubs, laundry bags, scrub caps and waterproof gowns.

“There’s lots of people who are at home more than they would like to be and maybe who have got extra time on their hands because of being furloughed and that’s a real worry for them,” Fran said. “Being able to keep busy is good for their mental health and it also helps people to feel connected.”

Can you help?

The good news is you can help even if you can’t sew..Roles and items The Harrogate Scrubbers need:

• People who can sew both scrubs and bags to put them in
• People able to deliver and collect the fabric and scrubs
• Donations of money to help buy the fabric and accessories
• Donations of plain lightweight polycotton fabric or new sheets
• Volunteers to cut the fabric into packs and prepare them
• Printers to print the patterns to go in the packs

To donate, visit: https://tinyurl.com/harrogatescrubbers Join the Facebook group  www.facebook.com/groups/harrogatescrubbers    Alternatively, contact Fran Taylor directly harrogatescrubbers@gmail.com

A schoolgirl from Harrogate who began a fundraising challenge today has already raised more than double her initial target.

Emily Caffrey, aged six, who has cerebral palsy and a brain malformation after being born prematurely, uses a walker and splints to get about.

She has decided to walk ten miles over the next week in support of NHS Charities Together. Her inspiration came from Captain Tom Moore, the Keighley veteran who has so far raised more than £24m by walking the length of his garden every day.

Mum Hannah said: “She watched him on the news. My husband is ex-military – he’s been out less than a year – and she said ‘that’s like Daddy’.

“The gentleman uses a walker, although it’s slightly different to hers, so she asked if she could raise money by walking too.”

Emily’s parents set a modest target of £500 in her online fundraiser to ensure it was achievable for her. Within 24 hours, however, having completed just one day of walking, her fundraising page had already surpassed £1,000.

“I think we’re going to have to raise the target,” said Hannah. “We were umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether to split it and add another charity, because of how much she’s raised.

“I know the NHS Charities Together are doing quite well, so I think we’re going to consider another local charity, because they’re really struggling.”

Emily is using her walker to complete a mile or more each day

Emily’s daily walks consist of at least a mile on the streets around her house in Harrogate, accompanied by her parents and three-year-old sister, Molly. The daily challenge will run until Emily’s birthday on Saturday, April 25th, with her mum posting updates to her Facebook page.

Missing her friends and teachers at Hookstone Chase Primary School, Emily’s route passes her best friend’s house where she’s often cheered on. As well as fresh air and exercise, the challenge gives her a new focus, after her planned birthday party at Mama Doreen’s in Harrogate had to be cancelled.

“This is the first year she’s realised it’s her birthday and it’s coming up,” said Hannah. “She doesn’t understand why she can’t see her friends – she just doesn’t get it.

“So this is something that’s keeping her occupied. Walking for an hour is a massive thing for her.”

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.