Thank you to everyone who joined us at our 2021 AGM (both in person at Harrogate Community House and via Zoom) to look back over a year of change, connections and community. We also looked forward with HADCA pledging to be at the heart of community recovery, as we navigate the challenges of the next 12 months and beyond.
We're delighted to welcome five new trustees to our Board of Trustees : Alistair Ratcliffe (Rotary Club of Harrogate); James Plummer (The Avalon Group); Dr Phyl Hughes (Ripon Cathedral) and Individual Members Ann Allen and Victoria Pilkington. Thank you very much to trustees Kevin Douglas and Maurice Bull who stepped down from the Board having served their 6 year term and to Bev Richardson who served a 3 year term.
Frances reviewed the year for HADCA and our presentation highlighted achievements in both our community action and frontline community services work. Everything we do is underpinned by our commitment to connecting and collaborating to support people to live active and fulfilling lives, whatever challenges they face.
In the end it’s all about people and we’ve worked really hard to support our wonderful local voluntary and community sector organisations this year, learning so much about being adaptable and resilient that will stand us in good stead going forwards.
Whilst national funding and large scale ideas suit some ideas and situations, in this past 12 months, local knowledge, an understanding of who can do what in each area and where those natural connections might be have proved that a local response can reach far further than a solution that is parachuted in.
2020/21 was the year when we did things differently in all aspects of working with people in the community. 321 new volunteers came forward in the initial weeks of the pandemic to support people in both Harrogate and Ripon – three times the number of volunteers we would normally have on the books at any one time.
It will be a challenging year ahead for all local members, partners and the people in our communities. The HADCA team is here to work alongside you, to ensure that people have access to the support they need and to nurture the culture of volunteering and neighbourliness that has long existed in the District, but that has flourished so much this year.
Our HADCA Impact Report gives examples of how we have made a positive difference in Harrogate District over the last year.
Our guest speaker was Wallace Sampson, Chief Executive of Harrogate Borough Council, who gave an informative update on the Local Government Review and what this means for Harrogate district.
You can view Wallace’s presentation here and there is also information on the North Yorkshire County Council website here
Wallace said it was important to ensure active engagement with local charitable organisations and there would be opportunities for conversations as to how the relationship with local communities and the voluntary and community sector could be even stronger in future.
