Get to Know Your Heroes

Jake Furby

Our first York Civic Trust Blue Plaque was dedicated to Jake Furby who was nominated by his partner Robert. Jake is a proactive LGBT Forum and committed advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.

York LGBT Forum is a charity which aims to improve LGBT rights in York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom and across the world. The charity works to combat discrimination and is sensitive to the marginalisation that diverse groups experience and seeks equal access and participation.

Find out more about what they do: https://www.yorklgbtforum.org.uk/

The Supper Collective

Martha Morley wished to commemorate Steve and all the staff at The Pig and Pastry, who despite having to close their doors, continued to help the local community by making and delivering free suppers. The Pig and Pastry are part of The Supper Collective, a collection of eight local independents delivering free nutritious meals to heat at home. At its height they were providing 1,300 meals a week for vulnerable people, NHS Covid-staff and a homeless shelter. Today they are still going strong, supplying 200 meals a week for vulnerable families in the community.

Keep updated on the work they are doing in the community via the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/suppercollective

Support Staff at Millthorpe School

Claire Fentiman nominated the support staff at Millthorpe School for helping her son and family through these challenging times.

Brian Coleman

A plaque was nominated by YCT member Stuart Coleman to his brother Brian who was forced to isolate in full lockdown with his wife who is in one of the most vulnerable categories and were both in need of a lift.

Fishergate Primary School

A nomination was made by Liliya Brezina to the team at Fishergate Primary School who are doing fantastic work looking after a variety of families.

York Hospital

Michaela Dobson requested a special digital blue rainbow plaque dedicated to York Hospital NHS key workers and support staff, especially for their work during the Coronavirus outbreak.

The York Civic Trust sends its sincerest thanks and gratitude to all NHS staff for their amazing dedication, commitment and care during what must be a very anxious time for them and their families.

The Staff at Copmanthorpe Co-op

Linda Hetherington nominated the staff at her local Co-op in Copmanthorpe for keeping going and putting a smile on the faces of the public.

Dean Court Hotel

Ruth Griffin nominated Dean Court Hotel York for providing free stays for NHS key workers, allowing them to get some well-deserved rest between shifts. This service was able to operate free of charge thanks to generous donations from the people of Yorkshire.

You can visit their website, https://www.deancourt-york.co.uk/, Fabebook page and JustGiving page to find out more.

The Ladies in Haxby Post Office

Rachel Scott nominated the lovely ladies in Haxby Post Office for working hard over normal hours to keep small businesses functioning and help communities stay connected. They were especially busy over the Easter period due to a newfound uptake of postal deliveries as more local businesses shifted to online commerce. Thanks to post office workers, families were able to send gifts and cards to their loved ones for a much needed pick me up.

Yorkshire Ambulance Patient Transport Service

David King nominated a Digital Blue Plaque to the Yorkshire Ambulance Patient Transport Service, including all their volunteers, who are doing vital work to ensure that key patients (e.g. those with cancer and renal failure) get to their regular lifesaving appointments.

PTS undertakes almost a million non-emergency journeys every year, making them one of the largest providers in the UK. They have a fleet of more than 370 vehicles, employ over 600 team members and have in excess of 200 volunteers.

Move the Masses

Bec Horner nominated health and wellbeing charity Move the Masses for their work and community support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since lockdown, they have turned the whole organisation around to provide services that are needed right now in York. After recruiting 99 new volunteers, they have delivered over 5,000 prescriptions, paired up 128 isolated people with friendly welfare calls, and passed many additional support requests to relevant partners.

You can read more about their brilliant work via their website: https://www.movethemasses.org.uk

Kitchen for Everyone

Jools Rebbeck nominated the selfless group of over 100 volunteers at Kitchen for Everyone York who are continuing to work with homeless and vulnerable people across York during lockdown. As well as hearty and nutritional meals, clothing, toiletries, sleeping bags, snacks and any other essential items, they also provide outreach services and help people towards finding accommodation and long-term housing solutions.

Find out more about what they do: https://kitchenforeveryoneyork.org/

Justine Whitelam

Nicola Briggs wanted to give her friend Justine Whitelam a massive thank for doing amazing work throughout isolation to make sure nobody in her community goes hungry. As well as delivering food parcels she also worked to build up a local food bank.

Lord Deramore’s Primary School

Helen Smith nominated the team at Lord Dearmore’s Primary School for their brilliant work with children and parents during the pandemic.

North Yorkshire Police Control Room

Katherine Johnson nominated North Yorkshire Police control room in light of their hard work in a high stress and often emotionally exhausting environment where prompt action can be lifesaving. The control room receives calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and took an increased number during the pandemic (over 2000 over Easter weekend alone related to Covid-19).

Jo Cole

Janet Bennett nominated Jo Cole on behalf of all the parents at Bereaved Children Support York (BCSY) in recognition and thanks for all of her amazing work helping recently bereaved families. The charity, founded by Jo, has just celebrated its fourth birthday, and over that time has helped hundreds of children and parents by providing free therapeutic counselling, regular family drop-ins, coffee get togethers for parents and useful resources.

During lockdown parents and family groups were unable to meet up in person, so Jo kept people connected by providing online quizzes and resources, organising zoom coffee chats, and keeping in touch regularly via email and over the phone.
For more information about BCSY you can visit http://www.bcsy.org.uk/

James Sanderson

Claire Turner nominated James Sanderson for his selfless attitude and hard work helping people in Barlby and neighbouring villages. His Facebook page, Barlby Region Independent Group Helpers Together (BRIGHT), started off by delivering food, medication and newspapers to the elderly and vulnerable. To date, they have now done 25,000 jobs for local communities and villages in the Barlby area, including jobs in the York boundary. Such jobs include: a meal service, pharmacy collections, newspaper deliveries, dog walking, a food bank, food parcels to struggling families and individuals, and welfare telephone calls to those feeling lonely and isolated. A whopping 1,100 people have so far benefitted!

St Leonard’s Hospice

Dawn Clements nominated staff at St Leonard’s Hospice for a Digital Blue Plaque. The independent charity provides specialist palliative care and support to those with life limiting illnesses, and while hospices always provide a vital service, they were needed during lockdown more than ever. St Leonard’s Hospice were able to care for patients who would normally be cared for in hospital – both at their site on Tadcaster Road and in their own homes via their Hospice@Home service, which released NHS resources to support the fight against Covid-19. They also help people through bereavement, which has been severely impacted by the isolating nature of the pandemic.

Care is free to patients, and as a charity rely heavily on the generosity of the public to raise over £5.8 million each year to run the hospice, with the majority  of the running costs to be raised from donations and fundraising by the local community.

Visit their website to find out: https://www.stleonardshospice.org.uk/

Care Givers at Home Instead Senior Care

Luke Norbury nominated the dedicated team of care givers at Home Instead Senior Care in York, a home care service allowing elderly clients to stay connected to their community, family and friends. During Covid-19 the team have been working extra hard to keep their clients, and their families, feeling happy, safe and secure.

Find out more about the work they do: https://www.homeinstead.co.uk/york

First York Bus Drivers

Chris Drury (Branch Chair) nominated the bus drivers at First York who, often overlooked, did an invaluable job maintaining a vital public service during Covid-19. Without the bus service many key workers could not get to work, and others may struggle to make necessary travel arrangements such as collecting medication and attending hospital appointments.

First Bus operate 30 bus routes running regularly throughout York and the surrounding area. Offer all discounted fares for children, all young people aged 11-16 and young adults aged 16-18.

Covid-19 Visors York

Lucy Burns nominated David Young, the driving force behind Covid-19 Visors York, a community of volunteers producing, coordinating and distributing thousands of free face visors for front line Key Workers in an around York throughout the pandemic. Their efforts have been sustained by generous donations from the public, including an impressive £1,000 from York Mosque.

David uses 3D printers in his creative work and found a design online that was being used effectively across Europe. The project grew from two 3D printers to 30, along with a distribution network, and partners across the region. These include the University of York, ISF Engineering, Nestle, York College, Blue Dot Lasers, Silverwood Lasers, York St John University, Solinear Ltd, Interact and Connect LTD and York Explore. Visors have been distributed to staff in NHS hospitals, paramedics, ambulance drivers, care homes, hospices, pharmacies and shops.

Find out more and donate here: http://www.covid19visorsyork.co.uk/

York Scrubs

Buff Reid nominated York Scrubs, a community project providing vital PPE to front line workers. Dr Rebecca Brown, a York-based GP, and Sarah Ashton, an experienced seamstress, released a press article asking for donations of fabric and were overwhelmed with responses from the local community. From these generous donations along with a team of volunteers, York Scrubs came to be. It now consists of a team of cutters, seamstresses, drivers, admin and many more to make it all run smoothly .

Keep up to date with their latest news or make a donation via their website: https://www.yorkscrubs.co.uk/