Member Article

By ‘eck! Wentbridge House Raises £8,000 for Local Charities at Country's Largest Yorkshire Day Festival

Wentbridge House Hotel, near Pontefract, has raised over £8,000 for local charities by hosting its third (and the country’s largest) Yorkshire Day celebration.

Approximately 4,000 people descended upon the hotel in Pontefract on August 1st to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, as well as to celebrate all things Yorkshire.

Crowds basked in the summer sunshine, enjoying food and drink from Yorkshire-based suppliers. Entertainment on the day included a falconry display, a police dog demonstration and a floral show from celebrity florist Carl Wilde. At midday, one of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance helicopters landed in the hotel grounds, giving children the opportunity to meet the pilots, sit in the cockpit and have their photo taken.

It is the third time the hotel has held a celebration for Yorkshire Day in aid of the two Yorkshire-based charities, with this year’s event being the biggest yet. The day raised £8,000 in total, with £6,000 going to Yorkshire Air Ambulance and £2,000 to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

Hotel manager Catherine Harrild said:

“It’s the third year running we’ve held the event and, once again, it’s exceeded our expectations. The weather was perfect and all the entertainment was fantastic. We’d like to thank everybody who attended and helped raise so much money for local charities.”

“I’m so proud of my team. Without all their hard work, dedication and meticulous planning over the past few months, we’d never have been able to pull the event off.”

Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “This is a fantastic achievement – raising money for Yorkshire charities by celebrating the county we all love. Having attended, I saw how good it was and I’m sure the team are already planning next year’s festivities!”

Kerry Garner, Yorkshire Air Ambulance Regional Fundraiser commented “The annual Yorkshire Day fundraiser at Wentbridge House is now a key event in the YAA calendar and we’d like to thank them very much for choosing to support our charity.

“This year’s event was fantastic and the whole day had a great atmosphere! We were delighted that one of our helicopters was also able to make a visit this year to help reinforce just why it is so important for us to raise the money we need. It costs £9,990 each day to run the charity, and we rely solely on individuals, groups and organisations such as Wentbridge House and its customers to help us raise those vital funds. We’d also like to thank everyone who came along on the day and supported the event.”

Lizzie Dealey, Development Officer for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said:

“Yorkshire Wildlife Trust would like to say a huge thank you to Wentbridge House Hotel and all that attended their Yorkshire Day celebrations. The money the Trust has received as a result of this event has gone towards our Brockadale Appeal - this successful appeal, helped by Wentbridge House Hotel’s donation has allowed the Trust to purchase an extra parcel of land, extending its Brockadale Nature Reserve, which is nearby to the hotel. This special nature reserve is home to a fantastic array of wildflowers, butterflies and birds and the new land will help reconnect two parts of the existing site.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Michael Smith .