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Ripon-based singer-songwriter Freddie Cleary will provide the entertainment when The Salvation Army holds its Yorkshire Day celebration next week.
The event on Tuesday August 1, is being held in the church hall on Lead Lane from 10am until 2pm and is free to attend.
Church leader Pat Clark, said:
“We hosted a Yorkshire Day celebration pre-pandemic and it proved a great success, so we decided to organise another one this year.”
She added:
“It’s a way of reminding all members of the local community that we are here for them all year round, not just as an emergency service for those who find themselves in difficulties.
“On the day there will be lots of reasonably priced refreshments including home-made cakes, sausage rolls and sandwiches, scones provided by Morrisons and icecream.”
In addition to the refreshments, brand new or good as new gifts, household items and toys will be on sale and there will be a uniform swap.
Families wanting to be involved in the swap are asked to take good clean items of uniform to the church hall in advance of Yorkshire Day. The hall is open from Monday to Wednesday between 9:30 am and 3 pm.
More than 500 bags of food and gifts were distributed to families across the Harrogate district after an annual Christmas appeal run by the Salvation Army in Ripon.
Each year the church and charity takes part in the nationwide Salvation Army appeal, which provides food and festive gifts anonymously to people recommended by agencies in the community.
Church leader Pat Clark said:
“This year, with the cost of living crisis, we faced a tsunami of need and we would like to say a big thank you on behalf of all the families supported by the appeal.”
Approximately 250 bags of gifts and 300 bags of food were provided, with each family member receiving a main present, chocolates and several small gifts. The food bags contained basic non-perishable foodstuffs and festive goods – mince pies, cake and puddings.
Ms Clark said:
“The huge effort was only made possible through the work of volunteer packers and sorters, donations from the public and other churches , schools and businesses.
“Planning for next Christmas is already underway, as arrangements have to be made to store cans and packets of food ready for the huge demand in December.”
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Salvation Army in Ripon faces a ‘tsunami’ of Christmas need
The Salvation Army headquarters in Ripon is attempting to deal with a ‘tsunami of need’ as its Christmas appeal faces its most difficult challenge in 30 years.
Pat Clark, a leader at the Lead Lane church, told the Stray Ferret:
“With the cost-of-living crisis biting hard and people struggling to pay their increased energy, food, mortgage and rent bills, the call for assistance across the Harrogate district is growing by the day.
“This has been our most challenging year since we started the annual appeal in 1992 and at present we are attempting to keep up with the calls for assistance, but are dealing with a tsunami of need.”
Last year, with goods donated from Ripon Cathedral, churches across the district, businesses and individuals, 250 bags of tinned and packaged food items, including sweet and savoury goods and Christmas treats such as cake, mince pies and chocolates, were provided for families in financial difficulty.
In addition, 150 bags containing brand-new donated toys and presents for children and adults, were distributed and these, like the food bags, were given to recipients recommended by health and other community-based agencies acting as a link between the Salvation Army and the families.
Alison Hewitt, Salvation Army corps assistant at Lead Lane, said:
“The calls for help this Christmas are already proving greater than in previous years and we are seeking donations of food items such as tinned vegetables and meat, tinned and packaged soups, pasta, cereal, coffee, tea and long-life milk.
“We have already prepared 170 food bags ready for distribution, but still have some way to go and we hope that the community can assist us once more by making donations of both goods and gifts that will go to families who need a helping hand.”
Donations can be dropped off at the church on Lead Lane between 10am and 2pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays up until December 21. More details are available by calling 01765 692 657.
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.
More charity shops re-open across the Harrogate districtFurther charities with shops in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon have reopened their doors this week.
In Ripon, where nine different charities have retail outlets, The Salvation Army has reopened after being shut since March 23.
The Cancer Research UK shop, located on Market Place, is also back trading in the city, while its shops in Knaresborough Market Place and Oxford Street, Harrogate, have also reopened.
The reopenings follow news reported in The Stray Ferret of last week’s opening of St Vincent’s on Knaresborough High Street, which raises money to support the community work of the St Vincent de Paul charity.
Victoria Smith, manager of Ripon’s Salvation Army shop, told The Stray Ferret:
“We have introduced strict social distancing and hand hygiene arrangements and have also fitted a perspex screen at our counter. Just six people at a time are allowed in.”
Victoria added:
“It has felt like a long time since we had to go into lockdown and we look forward to welcoming back our customers and the people who have supported us in the past through the donation of items for sale.”
The Salvation Army, which has more than 400 shops across the country, is a pioneer, having opened its first shops in the 19th century to provide affordable clothing to people who otherwise could not afford them.
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Cancer Research UK is a research and awareness charity formed in February 2002 through the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and Imperial Cancer Research Fund.
The charity has 600 shops in the UK and Isle of Man and money raised through them is used to support its aim of reducing the number of cancer deaths.
Di Illingworth, who manages the Cancer Research UK Ripon shop (pictured above), said: “We are so pleased to be back. All charities rely heavily on the money raised through their retail outlets.”