OPINION: We know it’s only August, but exciting Christmas planning is underway - Sammy Lambert, Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity

We may have just experienced record-breaking hot weather but our HHCC elves are busy getting festive! By kind permission of Harrogate Railway Athletic Football Club, we are thrilled to be hosting our annual outdoor pop-up Christmas Market. The event will be held on Sunday, November 27, 10am-4pm at the Harrogate Railway Athletic FC, Station View, Harrogate, HG2 7JA.

We will have live music, merry donkeys, Father Christmas in his Grotto and hand selected stalls including arts, crafts, handmade jewellery, wax melts and candles, Christmas decorations plus much more. Food and drinks will also be available from the Harrogate Railway Athletic Football Club, including a licenced bar. This will be a perfect opportunity to get a head start on your Christmas shopping! We would love for you to join us and support your local NHS. If you or someone you know would like to have a stall at our Christmas Market, contact us to fill out an application form.

All proceeds received will go towards making life-changing differences to staff, patients and families here at #teamHDFT. Your ticket gives you access to the event, a drink and a mince pie on arrival and not forgetting a visit to Father Christmas himself!

Tickets are now available for a donation of £2 for children over the age of three, under threes are free and £5 per adult (including children aged 14 and over). You read that right – your little ones can visit Father Christmas for just £2! To book tickets, visit hhcc.co.uk. Whilst we do not wish summer to end, this festive fun day will give you something to look forward to this winter.

Speaking of winter, do not forget to save the date for Harrogate Symphony Orchestra’s (HSO) Winter Concert, which will be taking place on Saturday, November 12. The HHCC and Volunteer Team recently attended their Family Fun Time Concert, which featured the world premiere of King Of The Birds. It was a spectacular evening enjoyed by all! We are incredibly proud to be HSO’s chosen charity, and I would like to thank them for going above and beyond in supporting their local NHS.

You may have seen in media recently the unveiling of the Harrogate Scrubbers Quilt exhibition in the Victoria Shopping Centre in Harrogate. The quilts will be on show over the summer period to showcase the incredible support the Harrogate Scrubbers provided their NHS Heroes during the height of the pandemic. The group were a huge part of our journey during the Covid outbreak. During the peak of the pandemic, the vital need for #teamHDFT colleagues across our hospitals and community services to wear scrubs during their working days drastically increased. They made thousands of sets of scrub, hats, uniform bags and gowns for #teamHDFT. The Harrogate Scrubbers also produced a book about their achievements featuring the quilt pieces. From the sale of these books they have donated over £1,000 to HHCC. I would like to thank each and every member of this group for the positive impact they made. I urge you to go visit the exhibition and see this amazing piece of history, I am sure we will look back fondly on for many years to come.

To find out how you could make a difference, visit hhcc.co.uk, contact us via email [email protected] or call 01423 557408.