Vote for our Charity of the Year
Your opportunity to support a worthy cause

Following the success of our first ever Charity of the Year, where the whole team has been incredible in fundraising, volunteering, and taking part in awareness-raising activities, we’d love to make this an annual initiative.

It’s proven to be such a great way to make a real difference in our community as a team, whilst still supporting a range of other causes close to our hearts.

It's now time to decide who our Charity of the Year 2026 will be! We’ve shortlisted five great charities, each supporting people in our local area. Your choices are:

Yorkshire Cancer Research
Every 17 minutes, someone in Yorkshire is told they have cancer. Yorkshire also represents nearly 8% of the UK’s population but receives only 5% of health research funding. This charity is dedicated to finding new cancer cures and bringing them to people in Yorkshire, so you and the people you love can enjoy more moments together.  Yorkshire Cancer Research works to prevent cancer, find cancer sooner when it’s often easier to treat and improve cancer treatments and services. These include the research-backed cancer exercise treatment service, Active Together, which helps people prepare for and recover from treatment. By partnering with Yorkshire Cancer Research, Rudding Park can help save lives in Yorkshire, and beyond, by supporting vital research and services for people with cancer.

Henshaws
For over 185 years, Henshaws has empowered people living with sight loss and complex disabilities to build confidence, find community, and live independently. Just minutes from Rudding Park is our Arts and Crafts Centre in Knaresborough, a lifeline where creativity, care and connection come together. Here, individuals who’ve felt isolated or overlooked discover their voice, make lasting friendships, and uncover talents they never knew they had. But our impact reaches far beyond, through expert visual impairment support, youth services, family respite, and training accessed by thousands across Yorkshire and the North West. We show people that their disability does not define them. Instead, they are seen, supported, and celebrated for who they truly are.

Tempus Novo
The truth is stark: around 75% of those caught up in the criminal justice system are not there by choice, but because of the circumstances they were born into. Then, following a criminal conviction, securing a 'decent job' is almost impossible. Tempus Novo helps people who would otherwise be written off by society. A job is more than just a wage – it gives hope, belonging, self-worth, security, and a future worth living for. Families become stable, children grow up in safer homes, and cycles of offending are broken for good.

Mind in Harrogate
With 1 in 4 people experiencing a mental health problem each year, demand for Mind services continues to grow. Mind in Harrogate believes everyone should have access to excellent care and support, and offer a wide range of services including counselling, wellbeing groups, befriending, and rural wellbeing support. They've also recently launched a dedicated service for children and young people to provide crucial early intervention. In addition, Mind works with local businesses to raise awareness and build confidence around mental health in the workplace. With your support, the charity can continue to meet rising demand and make a lasting impact within our community.

Dementia Forward
Born and bred in the Harrogate District 13 years ago, Dementia Forward supported 200 families in 2012 alone and have grown to provide services for over 4,500 families affected by dementia. The charity runs a local Helpline, Dementia Support Advisors, Day Services, Wellbeing Groups, specialist Young Onset Support, Community Education, along with much more. These vital services ensure that people living with dementia and their loved ones do not face dementia alone and the charity provides a holistic approach to dementia support and helps people to live well with dementia in their local community.

How it works

1. Select one charity from the list
2. The two with the most votes will be invited to Rudding Park to pitch to you
3. Final vote out of the two

Our current Charity of the Year, Saint Michael’s Hospice, is so grateful to everyone for such a successful partnership. Together, we have helped ensure that people in our local area can receive the best end of life care, and that their relatives are supported alongside them. We’ll be wrapping up the partnership in October, so please look out for communications about that.

Thank you,
Pookie