More than double the number of people expected turned up to help tidy up Starbeck in the pouring rain this morning.

The volunteers were part of  UK’s The Big Help Out which encouraged people to try some voluntary work on the third day of The King’s Coronation celebrations.

Starbeck’s community rose to the occasion and this morning, despite the weather, a small army of more than 100 people turned up at St Andrew’s Church to help out – some doing some pretty tough jobs.

The event was supported by the Starbeck Residents Association, Starbeck in Bloom, Starbeck Lights and the church.

The Starbeck volunteers

Adrienne Amos, one of the organisers, told the Stray Ferret that plans had begun back in January:

“Once the new year had started we realised that it was going to come around very quickly. Phil our vicar offered the church as a hub and we know that lots of people in Starbeck are very community minded.

“We met all the different groups and decided that the easiest thing to do was to simplify it so we have gardeners who are edging and weeding, we have got street furniture cleaners and litter pickers.”

The Lancaster family, mum Sarah, dad Phil and Nina 13, Sol 12 and Reuben 9 all came along to help – their designated task was to litter pick along Spa Lane.

Sarah said:

“You can just put a little bit into the community to improve it and do some good in the world and it is good for the soul – it doesn’t matter where you live, you can put something back.”

Reuben, who is a local cub,  told the Stray Ferret that he didn’t mind being dragged out on a wet Monday “it’s good for the environment” he said.

Edging the pathway seemed to be the toughest job on offer. Ben Nichols, one of those braving a bad back tomorrow said  the King’s event had pushed him into doing something he’d been meaning to do for ages:

“This is my first time volunteering properly. I’ve been wanting to do it for a really long time. It was that final little push- everyone is getting involved and there are more things going on. It’s a nicer way to get everyone involved.”

One of the organisers, Neil Holmes, cleaning some street furniture

Valley Gardens, Harrogate 

Across Harrogate, in Valley Gardens,  Harrogate and District Community Action (HADCA) had set up a stall with leaflets of information and advice on where to get involved – the organisation has a volunteer directory on its website.

Karen Weaver, from HADCA (pictured below) said:

“We’re here as part of The Big Help Out, and it’s all about getting people to think about what you can do in your community. It doesn’t have to be a regular commitment, it can be one-off. There are all sort of possibilities – our online directory has more than 200 opportunities to get involved in the district so there is something for everyone whatever your interest.”

Community Fit’s Anna Gazier (L) and Lisa Tilburn who work with HADCA had been litter picking

The Harrogate District Soroptimists took part of today’s Big Help Out by holding a tombola tent in Valley Gardens to raise money for local young carers.

Oatlands 

A free barbecue, drinks, children’s crafts, face paints and coronation cakes helped the community in Oatlands celebrate the Big Help Out.

Organised by volunteers from Oatlands Community Group, the event helped to highlight the facilities on offer at the community centre and the activities it hosts on a regular basis.

From community meals for people living along to baby bundle evenings packing up donations to the special care baby unit at Harrogate District Hospital, the venue is used for events throughout the month – along with private hire for birthday parties and more.

Today proved popular with locals, with dozens of families visiting this afternoon.

Organiser Vic Smith-Dunn said:

“It has been really great. We’re fortunate we could do a lot of it indoors and the barbecue was under the gazebo, so the rain didn’t matter.
“I was worried people would stay away because of the weather but they haven’t. It has been a lovely afternoon.”

This year’s Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal is for Resurrected Bites in Harrogate and Knaresborough. Today, Vicky meets a local man who is both a community grocery member and a café volunteer. Please give generously to support local people who are struggling this Christmas. They need your help. 

The people who rely on Resurrected Bites are no different to anyone else. They have experiences, careers, aspirations and needs just as the rest of us do. 

Sometimes, though, circumstances lead even the most conventional person down a road they never expected. 

Justin Hardcastle tells his story. 

“I worked in IT security recruitment as an account manager and lived in Harrogate most of my life. I’ve also lived in Leeds, London and Majorca, and in Austria for five years. 

“In 2005, I found my mum hanging. I cut her down and gave her mouth-to-mouth and saved her life. Unfortunately, the oxygen deprivation left her with brain damage.  

“In 2017, I found my brother dead in his flat. I couldn’t revive him.  

“In 2019, I lost my grandma, who was a second mum to me. My mum worked two jobs and me and my brother lived with our grandparents. 

“It was three bad experiences. If you look at cricket, you’ve got three stumps: the first was my mum, my brother was the second and the third was my grandma. It just all collapsed.” 

Justin struggled on for a while, but his mental health declined. He had to stop working and he lost his home. 

Friends helped out, including paying for hotel rooms to give him somewhere to stay. Justin said he was enormously grateful, but he needed long-term stability. 

He was put in touch with Lifeline, a Christian charity providing secure places to live and support for people in crisis. It gave Justin a flat shared with two other men.  

Read more:

• Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: ‘It’s our privilege to care for each other’
• Stray Ferret Christmas Appeal: Ukrainian refugees relying on Resurrected Bites for food in Knaresborough

With somewhere safe to stay, Justin was pointed towards Resurrected Bites and became a member of the community grocery. 

It took months for his benefit payments to start being made, but he was still able to access food supplies. 

Gracious Street grocery manager Carolyn said: 

“When the system goes wrong, it can leave you with literally nothing. 

“We try to tell people if you’ve got nothing, don’t feel you can’t come. If you go from work onto universal credit, there’s a minimum five weeks’ wait.  

“We always say we will do you voucher shops until your money’s back on course. 

“That’s why we need more people to know about us. People need to know and not to be ashamed. There’s no judgement.”  

Settled in at home and getting to know the team at Resurrected Bites, Justin decided six months ago to become more involved. 

He volunteers every Thursday in the community grocery, as well as doing alternate Fridays in the kitchen of the pay-as-you-feel café.  

His interest in food stems from his childhood, cooking with his grandmother and his brother, who went on to work in hospitality. 

Some of the meals created for the Resurrected Bites cafe, created from ingredients that would otherwise be thrown away

He said:  

“I love coming here. It gives me a purpose. Everyone is so friendly and I feel like I’m giving something back.

It’s heart-warming and beneficial for me, just to be part of a team and know I’m appreciated. I’m never late. I’m always early.

“You never know what you’re going to get. There was a week when we had crates of apples or strawberries or a ton of spring onions. You just never know and that’s what’s good. I’m not a chef, I just like cooking. 

“From quite easily going to Sainsbury’s or Morrison’s and looking round and buying what you want to coming here, it makes you think more about food. You adapt to the situation and what you are going to get. 

“It’s good for my mental health, I think, ‘what can I use, what can I make?’ it’s making me think and want to produce things differently that I wouldn’t have made. 

“I feel like I contribute – I give as much as I can. Thinking about where I was, if it wasn’t for Resurrected Bites, Lifeline and my network of friends, I don’t know where I would be now.” 

Having felt the benefit of Resurrected Bites in so many ways, Justin is determined to use his experience to help others. 

He recognises just how easily things can change for anyone, as they did for him. 

“When I worked in Leeds, I would quite happily go and have a coffee and a croissant for breakfast. Lunchtime, I’d go for a meal deal, and on an evening I might cook or have a take-away.

“That’s £15 a day. To go from that to having £3 for your weekly shop…

“I’ve changed my life and, going forward, I’m going to change my life. I want to feel I can support and help other people. 

“I would like to share my experiences and possibly do something, whether it’s in volunteering or paid. I’ve got a lot to give and once I’m rehabilitated, I can show people what can happen. 

“I can’t thank the organisations I’ve found and I’m part of enough. I’ve got a purpose. It’s a new start.”

Nobody in the Harrogate district should go hungry this Christmas. 

It costs £300 to run the community grocery for one day. Please help to keep it open for everyone who relies on it. 

Click here to contribute now. Thank you. 

A team of volunteers hopes to fill more than a thousand sandbags in Harrogate tomorrow.

Harrogate Borough Council keeps a stockpile of around 3,000 sandbags to support communities across the Harrogate district when they’re threatened with flooding.

The recent floods have depleted its stock so the council wants to prepare for future floods by filling up sandbags from 7am at its depot on Claro Road in Harrogate.

During floods in Pateley Bridge in February, some residents reported difficulties in getting hold of sandbags to help protect their properties.

Volunteers will come from Ready for Anything, which is a database of North Yorkshire County Council volunteers that are called upon in times of emergency.

If you are interested in coming along contact Harrogate Borough Council’s emergency planning officer Ash Demaline at ash.demaline@harrogate.gov.uk

Read more:

• Mother Shipton’s delays reopening due to flood damage
• Flooding reveals ‘major unresolved problem on West Park Stray’

Jayne Jackson began maintaining the Knaresborough Cemetery after feeling Harrogate Borough Council wasn’t doing enough.

Mrs Jackson has been working on the grounds for almost four years but now ill health means she has to pack away her tools.

As a regular visitor to the cemetery, near King James’ School, to visit her parent’s graves Mrs Jackson said she was getting “frustrated” by its condition.

She said there were a host of issues including; long grass, overgrown bushes and tree roots causing graves to collapse.

Mrs Jackson has reported issues over the years including a leaking tap and damaged graves, to the council, but said these often went ignored or took a long time to be repaired.

Mrs Jackson said she knew she had to do something for the town she has lived in since she was seven years old.

Her lone volunteering turned into a large undertaking costing her “100s of pounds of my own money”. She would tackle the overgrown foliage and keep weeds at bay.

It was also important for Mrs Jackson to carefully maintain the baby and war graves. Her aim was to create a peaceful place for others.

Jayne Jackson left this note for the cemetery’s visitors.

But now, she has been left questioning why she continues to work on such a large space alone:

“It was important for me to keep it tidy. Over the years there’s been less and less maintenance, lots of the graves have just been left to overgrow. I’ve enjoyed doing it and met some lovely people too but a little help from the council would go a long way.

“I’ve got so frustrated I now just think what’s the point?”

Mrs Jackson has said she hopes Harrogate Borough Council take the same care she did to maintain the cemetery.

Councillor Andrew Paraskos, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“On behalf of the council’s bereavement services, I’d like to say thank you to Jayne Jackson for her work at Knaresborough Cemetery, it has been very much appreciated.

“We have a regular programme work, across all of the district’s cemeteries that we manage, and when specific issues are raised we work to address these.

“Visitors to several of the cemeteries across the district may also start to notice some areas that are being left to grow and not mown. We want to encourage biodiversity so are working with parish councils to leave specific areas to grow, attract pollinators and create habitats.

“We will of course continue to mow the grass along pathways and around gravestones so that mourners can pay their respects to their loved ones.”

Read more:

• Knaresborough Lions and restaurant offer free kids meals over half-term
• Bishop Monkton church could sell its pews in its bid to transform the building

Opened in 1876 the graveyard holds over 3,000 graves.

Her hard work has not gone unnoticed with numerous local residents thanking her on a Facebook post after she left a note in the cemetery to say she was stopping her work.

Mrs Jackson says it is her time to step away after noticing her arthritis makes some of the jobs too difficult.

A charity that delivers hot meals to older people has issued a plea for more volunteers during the lockdown.

Harrogate and Ripon Foods Angels needs extra help because of rising demand for its services and a reduction in volunteers due to shielding.

The food angels prepare and deliver about 120 meals daily for vulnerable people in Harrogate and Ripon.

Today’s plea is not only for individual volunteers but also for businesses: for instance, two staff at Harrogate firm Slingsby Gin help every Thursday.

The service not only provides meals but also helps reduce isolation among vulnerable people during the pandemic.

Read more:

• Harrogate charity launches UK’s first meals on wheels loyalty scheme
• My Year: Harrogate care leader describes ‘waves of despair’ in pandemic

Sue Cawthray, chief executive of Harrogate Neighbours, which oversees the food angels, said it expected demand for meals to increase in the weeks ahead and any help would be appreciated. She added:

“New shielding guidelines have forced regular and willing volunteers to take a step down, which has left a big gap in the number of people we need to deliver the meals each day.

“We are asking those individuals or local businesses who can spare some time to please do so, so that we can continue to provide the much-needed service into the community.

Volunteers follow government guidelines and protocol, including wearing PPE.

For more information on volunteering visit here or call 01423 888777.