It's been another challenging year for many of us, but we can choose to respond with kindness, help spread some joy and give people hope for a positive future.
Volunteering at Christmas
The organisers of Knaresborough Christmas Day Dinner would appreciate support to provide the meal and for gifts.
Many of our hard working small local charities and dedicated volunteers are taking a well-earned break over Christmas, but will certainly welcome help at other times of year.
We help people find their ideal volunteering role through our HADCA Volunteering Directory .
You can search our Directory by availability (day of week) and causes and activities which interest you, as well as volunteering you can do at home. When you find suitable roles, you are able to log in to make enquires direct to the community organisations looking for volunteers. When making an enquiry you are able to add any relevant comments about what you are looking for and can offer in a role and the organisation will get in touch with you to discuss.
Our latest HADCA project recognises that not everyone has the time to dedicate to regular volunteering. Help Out Harrogate is an initiative offering local people the chance to volunteer at a variety of one-off events (including some festive events) without the need to make any regular commitment.
Other things you can do…..
Donate food or money to local community food providers or gifts for Christmas appeals
Local community food providers, including Resurrected Bites, Harrogate District Foodbank, St Peters Church Harrogate, Ripon Food Support, Ripon Salvation Army, Boroughbridge Community Larder and Upper Nidderdale Food Bank welcome your support.
Harrogate Clothes Bank, The Village (baby bank and school uniforms) and Essential Needs Community Store also welcome donations.
Please get in touch with the above teams or check their websites and social media feeds for latest updates on how you can best help, before making donations.
Ripon Salvation Army Annual Christmas Appeal New gifts for new-born to aged 18, which are not gift wrapped, will be accepted Monday-Wednesday between 9.30am - 2pm from 25 November to 6 December 2024. Check on the website for what would be particularly welcome. If you know an individual or family who may be finding things a bit difficult and would appreciate gifts, please get in touch with the Salvation Army.
You can also find hundreds of local charities in our searchable Where To Turn Directory who would love your support and donations! Many charities have fantastic Christmas raffles too!
Connect with neighbours, friends and family and offer to help
Extra phone calls to keep in contact with friends, neighbours and family could mean a lot to them and is an opportunity to find out about any needs they may have. Offer to help neighbours, keeping it local where people may recognise you and trust your offer is genuine. There is inspiration and ideas from Action for Happiness and The Great Winter Get Together
Buy charity Christmas cards
There are lots of lovely local options including from Horticap, Jennyruth Workshops, Henshaws, Harrogate Hospital & Community Charity, Artizan International, Harrogate Fair Trade Shop and Open Arms Malawi or visit Cards for Good Causes at the library or buy from your local charity shops.
Buy charity Christmas trees and gifts
Special and unique gifts from local charities including Horticap, Ripon Community Link and Walled Garden, Jennyruth Workshops, Harrogate Fair Trade Shop, Open Arms Malawi , Artizan International, Henshaws The Harrogate Chocolate Factory and many more. Or visit your local charity shop, support a good cause and choose a pre-loved gift - you'll also be helping our planet!
Horticap and Ripon Walled Garden are the places to get your Christmas trees and wreaths!
Donate as you shop online
Donate to a cause you care about when you do online shopping with sites such as Give as you Live or easyfundraising.
Support a local good cause when enjoying a coffee or lunch, catching up with friends or having a meeting
Enjoy good coffee and delicious food at venues including Hopkins @ Horticap, Harrogate Chocolate Factory café, Artizan Café, Henshaws Arts & Crafts Centre, Ripon Walled Garden, Yorkshire Cancer Research's Cafe at Hornbeam Park or at one of the Resurrected Bites Give As You Can Cafes.
If you enjoy a meal or drink at Fodder at the Yorkshire Showground any profits are put back into the Yorkshire Agricultural Society which provides support for children, teachers and people in the rural community through education, development and support.
There are lots of venues where you can hold meetings and support local charities at the same time, including Harrogate Community House, Ripon Community House and Chain Lane Community Hub in Knaresborough.
Treat a friend to some culture of their choice!
Vouchers are available from local charities Harrogate Theatre and Harrogate International Festivals.
Support local charity and community events
You can find many events listed on our community calendar
Help people struggling with the cost of living
With the increasing cost of living, local people are struggling to feed their families, heat their homes & pay their bills. Two Riding Community Foundation's North & East Yorkshire Cost of Living Crisis Appeal enables you to donate directly to support people in North and East Yorkshire who are struggling.
Support our local Christmas Tree Festivals
You'll find lovely displays at St John's in Knaresborough (where you'll be able to see our own 'Deck the Halls with Help at Home' tree), St Peter's Church in Harrogate, St John's in Bilton, St James' Church in Boroughbridge and St Mary's Church in Masham.
Play THE LOCAL LOTTO for the Harrogate District
It's a fun way to support a cause that matters to you with over 100 local good causes signed up – and you could be a winner! When you play THE LOCAL LOTTO you know that 60% of your ticket price goes to good causes (more than double what the National Lottery gives) and the money raised is going to good causes that benefit your local community.
If you can’t decide which cause to support you can choose THE LOCAL FUND which will be spent on providing vital support to a wide range of local organisations and initiatives which have a beneficial impact on our local community.
Play THE LOCAL LOTTO online now at just £1 for a ticket. Players must be 18 years and over. Be Gamble Aware.
You can buy THE LOCAL LOTTO Gift Vouchers starting from just £5 giving the gift of giving to local good causes & providing a bit of fun!
Become a Friend of THE LOCAL FUND for the Harrogate District
Anyone who cares passionately about the Harrogate District and would like to make a positive difference by improving the quality of life for disadvantaged people and communities across the area is encouraged to become a Friend.
Be Kind to our district and our planet
Zero Carbon Harrogate have plenty of ideas for what you can do.
Help us to keep our Where to Turn Community Information Directory up to date
Its important people know they are not alone and our local community organisations are here to help. Our online searchable Where To Turn Directory helps to signpost to appropriate support. If you are involved with or know about a charity or group that isn’t listed please get in touch
Support our local charities on social media
Please like and share their messages to raise awareness of the support available and so people know how they can help. We’d love you to follow us on twitter (X) Facebook and Instagram too!
There are many other ways you can help to spread kindness in Harrogate District all year around. Volunteering is not just for Christmas.
If you’re thinking of New Year Resolutions and want to keep motivated getting active, connecting with people or learning new skills there is no better way than to volunteer with other like-minded people. So please take another look at our Volunteering Directory or sign up as a member of our Help Out Harrogate or Community Fit crews. If you know any young people who would like to help out, please take a look at our dedicated young people's volunteering page. Young people giving time in the Ripon area will receive awards and rewards with our Power of 10 Volunteering Scheme, when they achieve 10 hours of volunteering.
If you've got any ideas to add, please let us know!
We'll be adding to this page as we learn about more opportunities for us all to show our support.
updated 29 October 2024
