Column: Christmas kindness at the Harrogate Market Charity Hut
Christmas is a time for giving and for spreading hope and joy. The festive season is also a time when people want to get involved with their community, and local charities are looking for support for their vital work.
The Charity Hut at the Harrogate Christmas Fayre until December 14 gives local charities the opportunity to raise awareness, sell Christmas goodies and fundraise right in the town centre, near the cenotaph, opposite Bettys.
The HADCA team are delighted to be working in partnership with North Yorkshire Council and The Local Lotto again this year to host and promote the hut and the 15 charities taking part.
The charity teams and volunteers would love you to drop by for a chat, find out about their work, maybe take part in a game or tombola, and buy Christmas cards or unique gifts.
Follow HADCA charity on social media to find out who is at the hut each morning when we open up at 10am, or 11am on Sunday. Sometimes there will be a different charity there in the afternoon, so you can pop back after lunch, or after work as the hut is open until 7pm, 5pm on Sunday.
Today, Thursday, in the morning you’ll find Open Arms Malawi selling lovely, colourful gifts and cards. Buying for your friends will make a difference for a vulnerable child and their family in Malawi.
In the afternoon, Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity team will be selling Christmas cards and sharing how volunteers play a vital role in the everyday operation of our hospital, in so many different ways.
On Saturday, Harrogate Cat Rescue will be at the hut all day. Pop along to say hello and pick up some goodies all raising funds to help save the lives of unwanted and abandoned cats and kittens in the area. The team would love your support to help as many cats as they can, offering shelter and care until a loving forever home is found.
During the fayre there will be the opportunity to also meet these brilliant charities at the hut: Vision Support, Harrogate Hospital Radio, Girlguiding, Dementia Forward, Harrogate Skills 4 Living Centre, Nidd Valley Methodist Churches, Harrogate Parkinson’s, Rotary Adventurers, Artizan, The Samaritans, Harrogate Town Community Foundation and The Sibling Group.
North Yorkshire Council’s Community Safety team will be at the hut on Friday, December 12 in the morning with lots of good advice about keeping yourself and others safe.
Many charities face cuts to funding as the need for their services increases. Even a small act, contribution or kind word can make a massive difference as charity teams quietly provide the support people need to help them get by.
Help spread kindness this festive season. If you don’t make it to the charity hut this year, then please visit our HADCA website - https://hadca.org.uk/news - for some more Christmas kindness ideas to support charities and residents across Harrogate district, now and all year round.