More than £220,000 has now been raised to help communities affected by the July flash floods, the charity overseeing the fundraising has announced.
Two Ridings Community Foundation opened the Swaledale & Wensleydale Recovery Fund to provide assistance to people affected by the flooding.
In addition to the contribution of £82,000 made by Two Ridings to start the fund, additional donations of over £140,000 means that the fund has £222,000 to distribute with more donations still coming in.
To date the fund has made 128 payments of £300 to people affected by the flooding, with a further 18 in the pipeline.
As a result of the case worker team visiting people affected by the flooding 11 further awards of £1000 plus have been made to help people in significant hardship, including 2 awards to small businesses.
A further 14 similar awards are in progress and more will be made in the next few months as people come to terms with the financial impact of the floods.
Awards have also been made to Arkengarthdale and Grinton Parish Councils with other parish council awards in progress. These awards are to assist with immediate repair work on severely damaged land or becks to protect properties and businesses.
The money held in The Swaledale and Wensleydale Recovery Fund will be used to ensure that the families, farms and small businesses affected in Swaledale, Arkengarthdale and Wensleydale have long-term support to help them recover from the effects of flooding.
This includes awards to the Parish Councils as well as payments to residents to help them with the costs of temporary accommodation, running dehumidifiers or replacing items such as white goods and essential furniture.
In addition, Two Ridings, with the help of Richmondshire Community Voluntary Action have regular drop ins with a range of other support organisations (The Farming Community Network, Richmondshire District Council, NFU) attending.
The next drop in dates are:
Bellerby Memorial Hall 7, 14, 21 October 9.30am – 12noon
Reeth Memorial Hall 4, 18, October, 1, 15, 29 November 9.30am – 12.30pm
Jan Garrill Chief Executive of Two Ridings Community Foundation said: “Thank you to everyone who has donated or pledged support. Every penny will be spent on supporting local people affected by the flooding in Swaledale, Arkengarthdale and Wensleydale.”
To make a request for support or to find out more please contact the Two Ridings Community Foundation office on 01904 929 500 or email grants@tworidingscf.org.uk.
There are also two major fundraising events organised by local residents and generously supported by local businesses and networks planned in the next month:
Bids, Bands & a Big Night Out – Tennants, Leyburn on Saturday, October 19
Grand Day Gala Dinner Dance – Tennants, Leyburn on Saturday, November 2
