Friends of the Friarage celebrating after reaching £200,000 target
WE'VE DONE IT! We are delighted to share that after an almost 18-month fundraising appeal we have reached our target of £200,000 and we can finally achieve the goal of bringing vitreo-retinal eye surgery treatment to the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.
Our ambitious appeal was born out of a pledge to support the hospital’s eye department within the new £35.5m Friarage Surgical Hub, which opened in June 2025.
While the term ‘vitreo-retinal’ sounds specific, it covers a broad range of conditions affecting vision, such as retinal detachment, macular holes and complications from diabetic eye disease, and although VR treatment is available at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, the eye team will now be able to treat patients in Hambleton and Richmondshire closer to home, which will aid recovery and save in travel time and expenses. Friends of the Friarage have a long history of investing at the Friarage to improve and enhance the staff, patient and visitor experience at the hospital and firmly believe that all patients have the right to be treated as close to home as possible.
Staff and trustees of the charity brought the fundraising to a close at the Yorkshire Dales Classic Car Club’s ‘Dales Trail’ event at Bolton Castle on 22nd June, as YDCCC’s chosen charity for 2025 in support of the eye appeal.
At the end of the event, the car club presented us with a generous donation of £3,000, which was received by Friends’ Co-chairs, Susan Watson and Tony Walters, along with Ms. Sreekumari Pushpoth, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon/Clinical Director from the Ophthalmology Department.
Giving thanks to the club for their support, Susan explained how the charity have been able to meet the £200,000 target thanks to a recent, unexpected legacy donation and how the £3,000 contribution from the club tipped the total, meaning that the eye team are now in a position to go ahead and purchase the necessary equipment. Susan told us,
“Friends of the Friarage are incredibly proud to be working with the University Hospitals Trust and Friarage staff and are excited to now start to put the plans in place for the equipment to make its way to the Friarage Surgical Centre and deliver this service to patients in our area.
We would like to thank each and every person who has got behind our appeal to help make this happen. Fundraisers have ranged from primary school bake sales, raffles and jumble sales to music events, art exhibitions, corporate donations - and everything in between, plus the donation of time that our volunteers have given to be able to make our fundraising events happen. If you have supported us in any way throughout this appeal then thank you – we couldn’t have done it without you!”
Money is still coming in from fundraisers across the area and the Friends have pledged that every penny raised in the name of the eye appeal will go to the eye department. Friends of the Friarage is a charity that never stops working for its local hospital. We are in discussion with medical and nursing teams in all services to agree what more is needed and how we can help. Expect further updates later this year on what we will be supporting next.
Pictured in main photo from L-R: YDCCC Chairman, Ian Parminter, FOTF Co-chair Susan Watson, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon/Clinical Director from the Ophthalmology Department, Ms. Sreekumari Pushpoth, Mike Cowan from YDCCC, FOTF Co-chair Tony Walters and Trustee, Lyn Proud.