Tag: charity

Best foot forward and a fabulous amount of fundraising in memory of Joshua

Whitby Anchor by Emma Ryan

A fundraising campaign started by a Whitby woman in memory of a teenage boy who died from bone cancer is gathering pace ahead of this year’s Great North Run.

Joanna Powell-Lans turns 60 this year and Joshua Willamson would have turned 21, but died from bone cancer in 2019 at the age of 14.

While Jo has done the Great North Run (GNR) many times for The Bone Cancer Trust, as she is friends with Joshua’s parents, to mark the milestone birthdays she wanted to raise the bar and hold other fundraising events throughout the year with the aim of getting to £6,000.

Already the total raised stands at more than £4,000 and the GNR is still six weeks away.

Jo said: “This year, because I am 60, I said I will have a team for the GNR and run for Josh and the Bone Cancer Trust. He would have been 21, I am going to be 60 – it is a couple of good milestones.”

Through Whitby Running Club, where she is a member and run leader, Jo has recruited a team of 15 runners to tackle the half marathon route from Newcastle to South Shields on September 13.

They have each pledged to raise £350 for their race place.

Other fundraising events have included a cake sale, raffles, football cards, quiz nights, bingo, stalls at Goathland Farmers Market selling home-made crafts, crochet, bracelets and glass hearts.

Jo, of The Grove guest house, added: “This community are so generous and so many businesses have given us vouchers, it has been unbelievable.”

On August 8, Joshua’s parents will be doing the Gallon Walk as in previous years, the raffle will be drawn on August 13, Jo will have another stall at Goathland Farmers Market with a bottles and chocolates tombola on Saturday August 15, and an afternoon tea event is being planned for later in the summer.

“It will be my 19th Great North Run and it will be emotional when I get on that bus to go and see all the other runners”, she added.


Charity fundraising day in memory of a pal “always there for others”

Whitby Anchor by Emma Ryan

A Sleights family are holding a fundraising fun day and barbecue in memory of a man who died from cancer aged just 35.

Nick Gale would have turned 36 on Sunday but he passed away in January two weeks after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer.

On Saturday, a get together for family, friends and anyone who wants to support the cause will be held at Sleights Cricket Pitch, 2pm to 8pm.

There will be a barbecue, drinks, cake stall, live music from Best Served Cold, a 5-a-side football tournament (all ages and abilities, bouncy castle, tombola and field games.

Nick’s family will be donating all funds raised to Embers – a charity established specifically to provide advice and support to people aged 18-40 who have received a diagnosis of incurable or terminal cancer.

Holly Gale, Nick’s older sister, said: “It was two and a half weeks between diagnosis and death. As a family, we were really lucky to have support financially and emotionally, but there are lots of other people in that situation who don’t have that support.

“While we have been grieving there have been several other people who have reached out to me who have lost a sibling, and this day has gone from there. We were always going to do an event for Nick’s birthday and it was going to be for charity. Embers is northern as well so it is perfect.”

She added the day will be fun, upbeat and positive to reflect Nick’s personality. Since his death, Nick’s partner Alice has given birth to their baby daughter.

Nick’s childhood friend, Jim Roberts, has started the fundraiser via JustGiving.

He said the day will be “loud, warm, a bit daft, and full of the people he cared about” – and the kind of day out Nick himself would have loved.

Jim added: “Behind the jokes, Nick was one of the most genuinely good people you could hope to meet. He measured people by whether they were kind, and he lived by the same standard. He had a knack for spotting when someone wasn’t okay and a way of making things feel lighter again. He showed up for people, again and again, often when they needed it most.”

Marathon running teen Isaac leads Whitby nominations for Make a Difference Awards

Whitby Anchor by Emma Ryan

A Whitby teenager who raised £2,500 for a local children’s charity when he ran a marathon has been nominated for a Young Hero award.

Isaac Harrison has made the shortlist for the Young Hero category in the BBC Radio Tees Make a Difference Award.

It comes after Isaac took on a 26 mile challenge and ran from Scarborough Sea Life Centre, to the Cinder Track and then back to Whitby, finishing at the Whalebones.

The teenager, who was 15 at the time, did the run in aid of WHISH (Whitby Hidden Impairments Support & Help) as a family friend’s child attends there.

The charity, based at St Hilda’s Hub, provides services for children with autism, ADHD, genetic conditions and other disabilities and impairments.

Isaac set about seven months of training for the 26 mile distance, which he was fitting in around school, cross-country running, basketball and rowing.

On the day he was joined along the route by family, friends with a group gathered to welcome him when he arrived in Whitby.

Isaac, set himself a target of raising £1,000, which he admits he didn’t think he would reach, but actually raised £2,500.

His parents got a phone-call out of the blue to say he had been nominated and short-listed.

Lucy and Matthew Harrison say they still get emotional thinking of the effort he put himself through, adding “proud is an understatement”.

He was also backed by local clothing brand, Shreds 11 and Whitby Jets who Isaac plays for.

Isaac and his family have been invited to the BBC Radio Tees Make a Difference Awards ceremony which takes place in September.   

The teenager, who has just completed his GCSEs, said it was a surprise to get the nomination.

He said: “I wanted to do it to test myself as I was running cross country at the time and got a training plan together. The idea was also to do it for charity but I wanted to choose a local one because then you can see where the money goes. A family friend’s child goes to WHISH and I went to meet them and decided to do it for them.

“I had completely forgotten about it because I have been busy with my GCSEs so it was a surprise.”

Isaac and his family have been invited to the BBC Radio Tees Make a Difference Awards ceremony which takes place in September where the winners will be announced.

Whitby Lobster Hatchery has been nominated for the Make A Difference category award and The Farmy Army award has also been nominated. Local farmers were heroic in their efforts as they put their lives at risk to tackle the wildfire which burned across the North York Moors last summer.

Whitby’s Litter Pickers are also nominated for an award after each week taking to the streets, come rain or shine, to pick up litter and clean the town up.

Whitby Anchor