Charity: Ball raises £12,000 for hospice; Harrogate restaurant backs fight to get homeless children off the streets; Gateley gets muddy; and more
MORE than 200 professionals from the region’s construction and property sectors joined together for the annual Sheffield Charity Construction Ball, raising £12,000 for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.
The black-tie event, which took place at Sheffield City Hall, brought together contractors, developers, architects, engineers, and other property professionals that operate in and around Sheffield.
David Hall from Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice said: “We are absolutely delighted with the fantastic amount raised for our hospice and we cannot thank the kind generosity of those that attended enough. The money will make a huge difference to local children and their families. The event was a really fun evening and we are very grateful to have been chosen as this years’ charity for the ball.”
The annual event has been running for 15 years and is the longest running construction event in the north. Over the last 15 years the ball has raised £212,500 for charities across the region.
This year’s ball was organised by HLM, Arup and Rider Levett Bucknall and sponsored by Kier Construction and Counter Context.
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HARROGATE fine dining venue Restaurant 92 is joining forces with 27 other local restaurants to support a festive fundraising campaign that aims to help get homeless children off the streets.
The restaurant, on Station Parade, has signed up for the Eat Drink Give campaign organised by youth homelessness charity SASH and is hoping to help beat the £10,000 raised last year.
Under the campaign, Restaurant 92 diners will be asked to donate an extra £1 to their table bill and the money will be used by SASH to offer emergency and longer term accommodation to homeless youngsters.
Head chef of Restaurant 92, Micheal Carr, says: “It’s appalling to think that children in this area have to spend the night on our streets – especially at this time of year. We all have a duty to do what we can to make sure our children are safe, warm and protected.
“The Eat Drink Give initiative from SASH allows us all to help support homeless children in a small way. We always work hard to give our diners a fantastic experience and we will now be asking them to donate £1 extra to their table bill. It’s a small gesture, but together we can raise thousands of pounds to help get children off the streets. It’s fantastic to be involved and I’m sure our diners will be more than willing to help in any way they can.”
Last year, Eat Drink Give was supported by 10 restaurants in York and raised more than £10,000. This year, the campaign has secured the backing of 28 local, independent restaurants in York, Harrogate and the surrounding area.
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THE Leeds office of law firm Gateley has raised more than £1,250 for Guide Dogs, after taking part in The Royal British Legion Major Series North.
A 10-strong team completed the 12km obstacle course in less than two hours to earn a place in the top 300. Real estate partner Phil Gregory was the first to cross the finish line in a time of 1hr 13mins, placing 25th overall.
More than 1,000 people took part in this year’s race, which has become a regular event held in Leeds over recent years. The money raised by Gateley will go towards the Leeds office’s fundraising target of £5,000 for its nominated charity for the year, Guide Dogs.
The money will fund the cost of breeding a guide dog and the support for that dog to gain entry into one of Guide Dogs’ national training schools. As a reward, Gateley will get to name the guide dog puppy.
Gateley corporate recovery partner Rob Payne, who organised the team, said: “I am immensely proud of everyone in the Gateley team for taking on everything the Major Series could throw at them and raising so much money for such a worthy cause.”
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THE Hagge Woods Trust has paid tribute to the hard work of local volunteers and staff from Betty’s Tearooms this week at the Three Hagges Wood Meadow site at the Hollicarrs, between Escrick and Riccall.
Seeds of three late flowering species of meadow flower have been planted in the nursery in readiness for planting out next spring, while 3000 small plug plants including Greater Knapweed, Cowslip, Viper’s Bugloss, and Wild Marjoram have been planted into the wood-meadow by staff from sponsor Betty’s and another 1600 by community volunteers.
Lin Hawthorne, botanist for the Hagge Woods Trust, said: “Since Betty’s initial sponsorship of the nursery, we have sown, raised and planted out almost 10,000 plugs of native meadow flowers to enhance the wood-meadow.
“Volunteers have come from Riccall, Escrick and Wheldrake as well as from York. We are delighted to be making these strong bonds with local villages.”
The Three Hagge Woods Meadow hopes to build upon this recent flurry of activity with local volunteers and to offer a range of activities for people of all ages and abilities in the local community.
The Trust intends to recruit a team of individuals and aim to have a dedicated meeting place for them to volunteer and learn more about the planting and biodiversity of the site.
Ms Hawthorne, added: “We don’t only enhance the wood meadow plants for pollen and nectar, we also select native plants that are the larval food plants for butterflies, moths, solitary bees and many other less glamorous pollinators.”
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HENDOPHANT, a proud and colourful member of the giant herd of elephants that have helped to raise money for Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital, has been bought at auction for £11,300.
Hendophant was sponsored by Henderson’s, makers of Henderson’s Relish, and painted by Sheffield artist Matt Cockayne.
Hendophant proved one of the most popular of the Herd of Sheffield, which descended on the city this summer through an initiative of The Children’s Hospital Charity.
Only three of the 58 elephants auctioned raised more money than Hendophant, including AM by the rock band The Arctic Monkeys. Altogether the auction, held at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre, raised £410,000 for the Children’s Hospital.
Pamela Freeman, owner of Henderson’s, said: “Having been supporters of The Sheffield Children’s Hospital for many years we were excited to sponsor a Herd elephant and thrilled that the Hendophant raised so much money in the auction. The bidding intensified after we added a tour of the factory and a chance for the winner to bottle their own relish.”
Director of The Children’s Hospital Charity, David Vernon-Edwards, said: “The auction was an absolutely spectacular finale to the Herd of Sheffield. We really can’t thank everyone enough for their generous bids. We have been overwhelmed by the amount raised and are absolutely delighted the trail will leave a lasting legacy for Sheffield Children’s Hospital.”
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CAR retailer JCT600’s sponsorship of the annual Bradford to Morecambe Historic Vehicle Run has once again helped the event to raise around £2,000 for Cancer Support Yorkshire (formerly Cancer Support Bradford and Airedale).
The rally was organised by founder Gerry Watson and has been supported by JCT600 for the last 16 years. This year’s event saw more than 100 classic cars of all types and ages embarking on the 130 mile round trip from Bradford to Morecambe where vehicles assembled for a grand display on the promenade before returning to Yorkshire.
Now in its 28th year, the rally started as a humble cycle race in the 1950s and has developed into a one day nostalgic extravaganza for classic car enthusiasts, attracting thousands of visitors to the seaside town.
Among the oldest vehicles taking part this year was a 1932 two seater Riley 9; a 1932 Vauxhall Cadet Cabriolet; and a 1952 Jowett van plus a 1953 Jowett Javelin, which has been entered in the vehicle run every year and has been owned by one owner since new.
Event founder and organiser Mr Watson said: “The rally seems to become more popular every year. We were fortunate to have a lovely sunny day and once again had a fantastic turnout of enthusiasts keen to display their vintage vehicles as well as lots of people coming along to enjoy the sight of these beautiful classic cars. Many thanks to JCT600 for their continued support and to everyone involved.”
All proceeds are once again being donated to Cancer Support Yorkshire with the event having raised over £10,500 for the charity over the last five years.
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A GROUP of Leeds partners from RSM have completed a gruelling hiking challenge to support The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) in its Diamond Anniversary year, and raised more £5,000.
The group split into three and took on the challenge of completing the entire route of the Yorkshire three peaks, including Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent, within three hours – covering 24 miles to accomplish the challenge.
The event coincides with the DofE’s 60th year, and supports the charity’s Diamond Challenge, a one-off initiative encouraging people of all ages to take on a DofE inspired challenge.
All RSM offices in the UK are taking part in the Diamond Challenge and around 1,000 colleagues have already signed up to take part in challenges, including forming a band, learning circus skills and riding the longest zip wire in Europe. In addition to the support for the DofE Diamond Challenge, RSM launched the Gold DofE Award for its own school leavers and graduates in February.
Kevin O’Connor, RSM’s regional managing partner for Yorkshire and the North East, said: “Completing the Yorkshire three peaks in three hours seemed like an impossible task initially, but working together as one team we succeeded – with minutes to spare. It was not only an opportunity to push ourselves and raise much-needed funds for a worthwhile cause, but it was a great team building exercise.
“The DofE helps young people from all backgrounds to develop and acquire new skills, and it’s been great to mark its Diamond Anniversary year with a range of varied, and sometimes wacky, challenges. It’s overwhelming to see thousands of our colleagues get into the spirit of DofE, and take on challenges to fundraise, learn something new and have fun along the way.”
