Sammy Lambert: Thank you for amazing fundraising

It is my pleasure to be writing the HHCC monthly column again. April has been a very busy and challenging time for so many people.

I would like to pay tribute to all key workers in our community who have kept essential services going.

There are so many wonderful stories and examples of people supporting and helping each other. You will have also seen the excellent work volunteers have been doing, for example the Harrogate Scrubbers!

The challenges are unprecedented, however, I am honoured to be working alongside colleagues, key workers and volunteers all pulling together and supporting one another.

We have been delighted by the help and support of the community.

There are so many of you who have made such a difference to us and every penny will be put to good use. The staff store has been a huge success with many staff commenting that this has helped them reduce the worry of having to pick up essentials.

We have taken donations to our community teams and local causes, which we will continue to do. Thank you so much to everyone who has helped with this fantastic cause.

There are so many of you who supported this from individuals, businesses and the Harrogate Key Workers and Covid-19 Co-operation Group. It makes a big difference to the health and well-being of so many.

I have been so impressed with all of the fundraising, which has taken various different innovative forms with the lockdown.

Have you seen the The Doorstep Portraits Project? A group of very talented photographers are taking on a unique project whilst out on their daily walks in the local areas around Harrogate and surrounding areas. They are offering doorstep portraits.

Have you seen Joe and his friends who are running every day for 31 days? They have already raised over £3,000! At HHCC we have the virtual running challenge you can become involved in which has a super medal at the end.

There are a number of distances you can choose from. We advise you to only run if this is part of your hour’s exercise and to clock up the miles to make up the total distance over a period of time.

Please make sure you stick to the Government’s guidelines and keep safe.

Speaking of runners, Andy Sharpe has created his own entertaining Public Services Fancy Dress Marathon where he used a small car park and ran a marathon over separate days in different costumes!

Your fundraising ideas have been fantastic, though Craig from The Harrogate Arms may be in need of a new carpet soon! He is climbing the equivalent of the Seven Summits around the world via his staircase!

Many of you will have met Lee Murphy, personal trainer at our fitness events. Lee and his clients carried out a virtual social for his members, ran a virtual quiz and online concert, and raised over £300!

On a similar theme Johnny D and Hayley have raised over £600 from two online concerts they streamed to their supporters.

There have been a number of lockdown haircuts recently posted on social media. Lindsay has taken this to a different level with her Wacky Hair Fundraiser and has already raised over £1,000!

If you are looking for some entertainment this weekend why not look at the HG Community Lockdown Fest which begins on Friday, May 8.

They will be celebrating local businesses, each day displaying the talent of our community online. All the sessions are free to watch live online.

If you would like to donate to HHCC to help us do more for patients and their families you can do so on our website: www.hhcc.co.uk/donate.