OVER £1M RAISED BY SELBY HANDS OF HOPE

A local charity has raised more that £1million to help local people in the Selby area.
Selby Hands of Hope was established in 2009 by the late Wendy Singh and the Selby Times can exclusively announce the fundraising milestone.
Wendy sadly passed away in 2016 but her family and others have since worked hard to keep the charity and her legacy going.
The charity has raised a total of £1,144,071 since 2009 and this has been achieved through a combination of fundraising events, donations, and sales from their shops in Selby.
The funds raised have enabled the charity to help over 6,500 individuals and more than 150 organisations and groups in the area.
The charity was established with the aim to relieve financial hardship among people living in the Selby District.
Selby Hands of Hope (SHOH) is a local charity, run by local people for local people.
The charity aims to provide those in financial need with goods and services they otherwise could not afford.
Richard Singh, chairman of the charity, said: “We are dedicated to helping as many people as possible, and although this is a massive amount of money raised, the money is always used as quickly as possible to ensure the right people get the help they require as quickly as possible”.
The charity has continued to grow since it began nine years ago.
Richard, added: “We’ve come a long way since our inception in 2009, but our commitment to the people of Selby and district is still very much the same. This comes in any forms and could be a cooker for a village hall, carpets, heating, or food for a vulnerable family, iPads for schools, and equipment for nurseries, to name but a few.”
The charity’s biggest project to date – Project Hope, is the Thorpe Willoughby Childcare Centre, where the charity with help from local tradesmen completely transformed the school.
Over the past year, the charity has worked with Selby District Council, to spread their reach further and offer more support to vulnerable individuals and groups.
The charity supports people facing issues around hardship, disability, emotional and mental health, rehabilitation, illness, employability, isolation, and loneliness.
Their outreach project work now sees them offering a variety of courses from their training room above the Gowthorpe shop in Selby.
These courses are focussed on well-being, moving forward with your life and providing support networks and tools with which to do this.
Richard, explained: “Many of the individuals who have taken part in these courses are going on to become volunteers for Hands of Hope and a part of our ever-growing family. Some have gone on to secure paid jobs within the community and all have grown in confidence and found new purpose in their lives.”
The charity held its 9th-anniversary ball on Saturday, July 7 which itself raised over £3k.
Richard said: “Our 9th-anniversary ball was another great night and we raised a brilliant £3,001.40, thanks to the Selby Bowling Club, County Caterers, Pure Silk & our compare Natasha Hartigan.
Special thanks go to The Giant Bellflower in Selby, who supplied the wine for the tables and to the HSBC staff who kindly chose this event for their matching programme.
2019 will see us celebrate our 10th Anniversary and it will be our biggest event to date… watch this space.”
The charity thanks all who have supported it in the last nine years, with particular thanks to its charity co-ordinator. Richard said: "July 24, will mark two years since mum passed away, and i would like to take this opportunity to thank Ann Rhodes. Ann has been involved with Selby Hands of Hope from the very start, but i can honestly say, that without her over the past two years the charity would not have been able to continue. She has worked tirelessly to ensure the standards my mum set have been carried on.
On behalf of Angela, Mitchell, myself and all the people at SHOH, thank you, Ann."
Looking ahead, the charity's next ambition is to own its own property.
Richard, said: "We would like to have our own property, ideally one where we would be able to hold more than one training course, as well as accommodate the sales both of our shops achieve now.
"It would need to be based in the town center, as we feel this is vital to our growth and is ideal for people to drop in for help and assistance."