Four Alnwick based charities are to receive a substantial donation from Northumberland Estates to boost funds following what has been such a difficult year.
This summer a percentage of the money received from every adult ticket sold for Alnwick Castle has been split between four local charities - HospiceCare North Northumberland, The Alnwick Playhouse, the Fusiliers’ Museum of Northumberland and the Bailiffgate Museum. With the Castle now closed, the sums have been done, and each charity will receive in excess of £12,000.
According to Community Engagement Office for Northumberland Estates, Vanessa Proudlock who was tasked with delivering the good news, all four are extremely grateful for this much needed financial assistance.
Nina Burnett, HospiceCare’s Clinical Lead said “we are hugely indebted to the team at Alnwick Castle and Northumberland Estates for choosing HospiceCare as one of their beneficiaries this year, a year that has been quite a challenge for the Hospice which has seen an increase in referrals into our services. Funding has been particularly difficult because we had to cancel our traditional fundraising events and close our shops. It is local organisations such as this that have become a vital source of income for the Hospice and put simply, we wouldn’t exist without this kind of support. The money donated will contribute towards the delivery of over 500 hours of our specialist Hospice at Home end-of-life care to people living in North Northumberland.”
Speaking on behalf of Alnwick Playhouse, Manager Jo Potts said; “This year has been a challenging year for everyone. We are all living and working in difficult times with COVID-19 impacting on every aspect of our lives. The arts have been affected by the global pandemic since March 2020 with very few venues able to open since the spring. The situation in Northumberland mirrors this global pattern with the Playhouse now closed until the New Year. To receive such a fantastic donation at the end of the year has been a wonderful surprise for which we are extremely grateful.”
Andrew Robson, Director at Northumberland Estates said “Huge thanks must go to all the staff at Alnwick Castle who worked so hard to get the doors open and welcome visitors into a Covid safe environment this summer. We realise how difficult it has been for all charities this year, so it was an honour to be able to specifically help four of those operating in our hometown, in particular HospiceCare who were the nominated charity of Northumberland Estates in 2020 and saw many of the planned fundraising events related to this cancelled.
“Tourism is vital to our local economy, so getting the Castle open was always a priority. We will continue to support the local community going forwards through our Community Development Fund amongst other initiatives. This goes from strength to strength, giving money to local organisations, charities, and other community-based projects.”
Other recent financial assistance given by the Community Fund includes a substantial donation to both the Alnwick Chamber of Trade Christmas lights appeal and to the Alnwick Christmas lights team who work so hard every year to decorate the town at this time of year, amongst others.
