fundraising Archives - Page 4 of 14

Hundreds set for tomorrow’s Nidderdale Walk

About 400 people are expected to take part in tomorrow’s annual Nidderdale Charity Walk and Run.

The event, which is being held for the 29th year, has raised over £900,000 for charities since it started.

People will meet in Pateley Bridge from 7am before completing either four-mile, eight-mile, 15-mile, 22-mile or 26-mile routes.

The shortest route is around Wath while the longest is a challenging hike around Wath, Bouthwaite, Ramsgill and Lofthouse before returning via Scar House reservoir.

Registration is from 7am

Many participants are being sponsored to raise money for voluntary organisations, including Dementia Forward, Disability Action Yorkshire and Harrogate Homeless Project, while others just want to enjoy some of the country’s finest scenery in spring.

The routes are signposted and include checkpoints with medical help.

Brian Stuttard, chairman of the walk committee for the Rotary Club of Harrogate, which organises the event, said:

“About 320 people have registered so far and we expect another 100 or so on the day.”

Mr Stuttard said 40 junior soldiers from Harrogate’s Army Foundation College would be taking part in the four-mile route for the first time.

Nidderdale awaits

Registration begins at 7am and those taking part in the 22-mile and 26-mile routes are expected to depart by 8am. The shorter routes can start later.

It costs £10 for adults to enter (£5 for the four-mile walk) and you can enter on the day.

‘Netfix’ fundraiser for village cricket club near Harrogate

Pannal Cricket Club has launched a £20,000 campaign to replace its ageing nets and enable its members to improve their game.

Under the title ‘Netfix’, the club is offering rewards to supporters ranging from branded caps and popular pies to a hospitality day when Headingley hosts the Ashes this year.

With almost 300 members across its junior and senior teams, committee member Andy Herridge said the club is keen to ensure it offers the best facilities.

“We’ve really needed some new nets for the last couple of years. They’ve got holes in and have just been used and abused. The storm damage we had over winter just finished them off this year.

“We can only use one of the sides for the juniors and the seniors can’t practice in it now – it can’t take the force of a senior’s ball.”

Mr Herridge said the club has already received a £10,000 grant for the nets from the England and Wales Cricket Board and had saved some funds in recent years to put towards the project.

The £20,000 crowdfunder will ensure there is enough in the put to complete the replacement, and almost a quarter of the money has already been raised.

The club has even put together a promotional video to explain the benefits of the new nets.

Mr Herridge said the rewards on offer had also proved popular:

“They’ve been really well received and we’re asking anybody else who can put in a reward for a pledge to contact us, even if it’s local restaurants or bars for 10% or even 5% off a bill, that we can offer for small amounts – £10, £15, £20.

“We’re all volunteers and we all work full time, so it’s really hard to spend the time going round getting everything done.

“We’re doing some events on evenings to add to the fundraising. One of our players, Mo, is a Methodist minister and he’s going to cook curries for a curry night that we can sell tickets for.

“We’re keen to try and make the events as relaxed as possible so everyone has fun.”

Pannal CC was established in the late 19th century and has been based between Pannal and Burn Bridge, on Burn Bridge Lane, since 1918.

It has been part of the Nidderdale League since 1972, and is also part of the York Senior League and Harrogate Evening League.

Mr Herridge said it costs around £25,000 a year to run the club, which has almost 300 members from age five upwards. They include girls’ teams, who often play against boys and mixed teams because there are so few other girls’ teams in the local league.

As well as membership fees, the club’s covers its costs through sponsorships from local businesses.

To donate to the Netfix crowdfunder, click here.

Local headteacher running London Marathon to support school family

The head of a Nidderdale school will take part in today’s London Marathon to support a family affected by blood cancer.

Nathan Sadler, headmaster of Belmont Grosvenor School in Birstwith, will be taking to the streets of the capital this morning to raise money for Blood Cancer UK.

He’s running in memory of Philippa Badger, whose three children were pupils at Belmont Grosvenor, who was just 42 when she died from acute myeloid leukaemia last year.

Mr Sadler is raising money to support her widow James, who is aiming to raise £300,000 for research into the condition.

At the same time as the marathon begins, Mr Badger will be setting off on an eight-day cycle ride from Lands End to John o’Groats with three friends.

Mr Sadler said:

“As a school community we want to do as much as we can to support James and his family in their fund-raising efforts in memory of Philippa.

“James is a truly inspirational man who is driven to raise the funds needed for what could be a life-changing research project. All money raised on my JustGiving page will get added directly to James Badger’s fundraising pot, to help reach his target.

“I am proud to wear the Blood Cancer UK colours and am looking forward to the electric atmosphere on Sunday, especially as other members of the BGS Community will be running and spectating in London as well.”

A keen runner who has already completed seven marathons, Mr Sadler will be taking on three more in the next four weeks. As well as London, he will be running in the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon on May 14 and a final 26.2 miles at Windermere on May 21.

To support Mr Sadler’s marathon efforts, click here.

Mrs Badger died just 36 hours after being diagnosed with AML on April 22 last year. Her children were aged 12, 10 and six at the time.

AML has a survival rate of just 10% and husband James is hoping to fund a three-year research project to improve its understanding and treatment.

Along with Richard Baldwin, Adam Ellis and Anthony Fraser, Mr Sadler is aiming to raise £100,000 through the 1,600km bike ride alone. He has already reached three-quarters of that target on his JustGiving page.

Ex-soldier to walk 104km in a day for homelessness charity

A former soldier has pledged to walk over 100km to raise funds for a local charity – without ever straying too far from home.

James Bryceson, who lives in Norwood in the Washburn Valley, intends to walk around Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs – which lie just a mile away – 10 times in a row, in an epic 104km trek that he hopes will take just 20 hours.

He is tackling the epic trek, which he has called The Reservoir Slog, to raise money for Harrogate Homeless Project, and has set £1,000 as his fundraising target.

James, who spent 13 years in the Army, 10 of them in the Military Police, said:

“I’d been out of the Army for a while and wanted to do something to get fit. I thought 100km in a day would be a good goal to set.

“There couldn’t be a better charity to support. This is a local walk, and I’m hoping it will benefit people locally.”

James, who now works as a recruitment consultant, has spent the last six months preparing for the walk by lifting weights and doing daily circuits of the reservoirs.

He plans to set off on the round walk at 8am on Sunday, June 25 and keep the water on his right – heading clockwise – for the duration. He will be accompanied at various stages by family and friends, but is urging wellwishers to join him for as much or as little of the challenge as they like. He said:

“You can come along for one lap, two laps or more. The night part will be hardest, as I’ll be quite tired by then. So if anyone can join me for that bit, that’d be great – they can keep me awake!”

He is also looking for sponsorship, and is asking interested local businesses to get in touch. People wanting to support James’s trek for Harrogate Homeless Project can make a donation online via JustGiving, at The Reservoir Slog.

Harrogate Cricket Club launches £75,000 nets appeal

Harrogate Cricket Club has launched a £75,000 fundraising appeal to buy four cricket nets.

The nets would enable the club, which has four senior teams, 150 junior players and walking cricket for over-55s, to practise using some of the best facilities in the district.

It currently has only two overused nets in poor condition at its St George’s Road ground.

The crowdfunder campaign therefore initially aims to raise £30,000 and would make the new facilities open to the wider community.

The club has found donors willing to match fund that amount so the £30,000 target would generate £60,000. A further £15,000 may be required as the cost of the new nets could be as high as £75,000.

The existing nets were damaged in a recent storm.

The crowdfunding page said:

“We want to be able to provide some of the best cricket facilities in the north of England. But we’re currently falling well short of where we want to be.

“We only have two nets for hundreds of players and they are really old and tired. We have constant issues with net congestion, i.e. too many players and not enough nets and this significantly impacts our players’ ability to practise and develop.”

The nets will, according to the club, “allow each cricketer to develop at their own pace, with enough ‘net time’ to discover their strengths and work on their confidence”.

The first team plays in the Yorkshire Premier League and is coached by former Yorkshire player Matt Pillans.

Female cricket has boomed in recent years and the club’s girls section now has three teams across three age groups.

A club graphic showing how the new nets would look.

The appeal adds:

“There is a real lack of quality net facilities in North Yorkshire. We believe we can build an outstanding facility that will serve our players, their families, and the broader cricketing community for years to come.”

You can support the campaign here.

Hampsthwaite pupils prepare for epic 1,000-mile bike ride!

A village primary school near Harrogate is taking on an epic challenge to raise £2,000 for improvements to its school playground.

Pupils, parents, teachers and governors from Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School will be riding over 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John o’ Groats on March 29 and 30 — without leaving the school hall.

Just over 100 pupils from Years 1 to 6 will take turns on one of four stationary bikes in the school hall alongside teachers and members of the Hampsthwaite community to collectively achieve the mammoth distance in a cumulative 24 hours.

To add to the challenge, the bikes will use a ‘magic road’ setting on the Wahoo RGT fitness system, which will recreate the exact route including all of the hills, twists and turns.

Headteacher Amy Ross and the school PTA have made playground improvements a top priority for 2023.

Ms Ross said:

“Everyone at Hampsthwaite Primary School is counting down the days until we take on our virtual bike ride.

“It will be a great way to bring the local community together, whilst raising vital funds to make some long overdue improvements to our playground.

“All pupils will benefit from a playground refurbishment and it will make a significant difference to their time at school on a daily basis. I am grateful for the support and enthusiasm of the teachers, pupils and their family members, who have signed up to take part and sponsor us.”

Over £1,600 has already been pledged. You can support the school’s fundraising efforts here.

Schoolboy aims to clean up in aid of Knaresborough rescue centre

A young Starbeck boy has been putting his passion for the environment to good use to support a cause close to his heart.

Owen Sutcliffe has been a keen litter picker for the last three years, encouraging his family to go out regularly and clear areas of Harrogate.

The nine-year-old Hookstone Chase Primary School pupil is also a supporter of exotic pet rescue centre K’Rescue Knaresborough. When he saw it was struggling to cover its rising costs, he was determined to do all he could to help.

Mum Clare told the Stray Ferret:

“He’s obsessed with the rescue centre. He’s also an avid litter picker ever since he was in year 2 at school.

“In the first lockdown, he still went to school twice a week because his dad and I were key workers. They were learning about litter and how all litter eventually goes to the sea.

“Owen had just fallen in love with frogs and we had made a frog border in our garden. The teacher was trying to engage him and told him litter ends up in frog ponds too.

“He didn’t sleep for a week! We had to buy litter pickers and we’ve been picking litter ever since.”

Owen has set himself the challenge of collecting 100 bags of litter in the next six weeks, aiming to raise £250 for the rescue centre.

Two weeks into the task, he’s on track with around 30 bags collected – and his fundraising has already more than doubled his initial target, at just over £500.

He has been venturing out to areas around Harrogate nominated by friends and family as being in need of a clear-up. The worst so far was along the bridge on the A61 between Killinghall and Ripley, where Clare said the family spent three hours filling bags with litter but still “didn’t make a dent” in what was there.

Even in the recent hail and snow, Owen has been out collecting bags of litter, often taking enthusiastic friends with him as he aims to raise as much as possible for the centre.

He has also got members of his school’s eco club involved and the group will be picking litter around the grounds before the Easter break.

Clare added:

“They all love it! He is so proud of himself as well, and so grateful because a lot of the donations have come from complete strangers.”

K’Rescue owner Dan Holmes has said the rise in electricity and other costs is having an impact on his bills, which are currently around £1,500 a month. While he has a local vet who provides his time for free, medicines and other treatments also add up.

There has also been an influx of animals to the centre over recent months, as owners struggle to afford to look after their pets.

K’Rescue takes a donation from anyone adopting one of its animals, but Dan said the amount given each time has also been falling, as has the amount people donate when they visit the rescue centre.

Despite the challenges, Dan is proving an inspiration to Owen, who hopes to train as a vet specialising in exotic animals so that, when he opens his own rescue centre, he can treat the pets himself.

Clare said:

“He’s mad for animals. We can’t go on any kind of walk without him finding some animal in the wild.

“We’ve got two rescued axolotls. We made our frog border in the garden and we get so much frogspawn every year.

“The frogs there are so tame, they just come and sit on him. He’s like the animal whisperer.”

To support Owen’s fundraising, click here.

For more information about K’Rescue, visit its Facebook page.

Harrogate nephew of former broadcaster to cycle 1,000km in 48 hours

A Harrogate man is taking on an epic cycling challenge in memory of his late aunt.

Simon Gregory is set to cycle from North-West Scotland to Winchester Cathedral to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, which cared for his aunt, Rev Ruth Scott.

He aims to complete the 1,000km route in less than 48hours, in the hope of raising £25,000.

At the time of aunt’s death in 2019, Simon was just taking up cycling and he said the sport helped him deal with his grief.

In 2021, Simon completed a 280-mile cycle from his hometown in Yorkshire to University Hospital in Southampton, raising £14,000 for Macmillan, before planning his next challenge.

The upcoming 1,000km ride, which Simon will complete in June, begins and ends at the locations where his aunt’s ashes are scattered and interred respectively.

Rev Scott was part of the BBC Radio 2 feature Pause for Thought, alongside Sir Terry Wogan and then Chris Evans.

Preparing for his challenge, Simon said:

“It’s to remember my aunty Ruth who battled T-cell lymphoma. She was an incredible lady who led the most remarkable of lives; as a circus clown, a midwife and then a priest.

“She touched thousands, maybe millions of lives in conflict resolution and as a broadcaster for 25 years on BBC Radio Two. She was an incredibly selfless lady who was my second mum. She was always there to support and guide me when I needed it.”

Simon hugs Ruth’s nurse, Mairead, after completing his previous fundraising challenge

As well as remembering his aunt, he also paid tributed to her nurse, Mairead:

“To think that somebody faced cancer without what Ruth had in her nurse, Mairead, just kept nagging at me. Mairead offered a huge amount of knowledge, support and understanding so we could deal with the situation much better.”

Simon’s £25,000 target would cover 101 days of Macmillan nursing.

You can donate £5 by texting ‘RUTH48’ to 70550 or visit Simon’s Just Giving page. People can also donate £33 – which funds one Macmillan nursing hour – and have a loved one’s name included on the bike to join Simon on his journey.

Work to create Harrogate district’s first mosque continues after asbestos delay

Work on turning Harrogate’s former Home Guard Club into the district’s first mosque is finally going ahead after a delay caused by the discovery of asbestos.

Harrogate Islamic Association bought the premises at the corner of Tower Street and Belford Road last April and has since been focusing on fixing the roof and making it weather-proof.

But repair work uncovered unknown quantities of asbestos, which is carcinogenic but had not been identified by any survey at the time of purchase.

The substance has had to be carefully removed and disposed of by licensed professionals before further work on the building could progress.

Reda Djamaa, trustee and spokesperson for Harrogate Islamic Association, said:

“We’ve dealt with that problem and now we can carry on with refurbishing the building. Our main aim is to get the ground floor ready for use.”

Harrogate Islamic Association raised half a million pounds to purchase the building, which stands next to St Peter’s CE Primary School, and must now raise a further £200,000 to gut the building and replace all its timbers.

Phase three will see a complete refit of the interior, including a new staircase, plasterwork, doors, windows and wiring, as well as new toilets and ablution areas, all at a cost of £250,000.

The final phase, costing another £50,000, will add a kitchen, outdoor bollards and railings, and security and lighting systems.

Mr Djamaa said:

“We have weekly prayer and we pass round a bucket, and we get some funds from other mosques, but it’s a mosque for the community here in Harrogate, and so most of the money will be coming from the community here too.

“We hope we’ll be able to get to the next stage within the year, but we’re doing it bit by bit. We’re not in a hurry.”

In the meantime, the 100-plus members of Harrogate’s Muslim community will continue to meet at in the Quakers’ Friends Meeting House on Queen Parade.

Picture of the front door of the former Home Guard Club in Harrogate.

The mosque premises have served the community in various ways over the last one-and-a-half centuries.

The former Home Guard Club has served the community in various capacities over the last 150 years. Originally built around 1870 as two cottages, it was converted shortly afterwards into Harrogate’s first cottage hospital until 1883, before serving as Harrogate’s Masonic Hall from 1884 to about 1930.

At the end of the Second World War it became the home of the 5th West Riding Battalion (Home Guard) Old Comrades Association and Club.

Harrogate woman who had stroke at 18 to run London marathon

A Harrogate woman who had a stroke when she was just 18 years old is running the London marathon to raise money to help others.

Millie Carrington was a healthy teenager when she suffered a stroke during a weekend job at a supermarket in Harrogate 10 years ago.

She had just finished A-levels at Harrogate Grammar School and did not imagine someone so young and healthy could be affected by such a serious condition. Millie said:

“I had many of the telltale signs – the right side of my face fell, I was weak down one side, I had issues speaking and understanding conversation.

“I vividly remember thinking to myself, ‘this feels like I’m having a stroke’. Yet due to my age, both those who witnessed it, as well as myself, didn’t think I was actually having a stroke. I instead put it down to a particularly bad migraine.

“It would take three more days of screaming headaches, trouble walking, problems speaking, writing and communicating, and constant sleeping before I went to a hospital where doctors diagnosed a blood clot in my brain. After many tests, they concluded that the cause was due to a previously undetected hole in my heart, which I later had surgery to close.”

Millie pictured a few months after her stroke.

Millie says she was “incredibly lucky” to make a full recovery after speech and occupational therapy, and heart surgery to fix the cause of the stroke.

In 2015 she and a friend hitchhiked from Edinburgh to Paris to raise money for the Stroke Association, which supports stroke survivors.

Now she is attempting to raise £2,000 for the same organisation by completing the 26-mile route through the capital on April 23. She also wants to reach out to young people.

She said:

“I especially want to use this opportunity to raise awareness that a stroke can happen to anyone, of any age. I was very lucky to recover in full, but this doesn’t happen for a lot of people.

“Seeking medical attention in the first three hours often means the person receives crucial medication that gives them the best chance of survival and recovery.”

Millie has already raised nearly half of her £2,000 target. You can support her charity run here.

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