Two York charities compete to win a share of our £25k

It is part of a whopping £125k cash giveaway to charities across the UK from our parent company’s charitable arm, The Gannett Foundation.

And we asked YOU to decide where this money should be spent.

You nominated in your thousands and our editorial teams across Yorkshire and the North chose a shortlist of charities from these nominations that will share in the £25k.

Two have been specifically nominated by readers of The Press: The York Rescue Boat, and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

York Rescue Boats lifeboat Jorvik Guardian in action

The other charities competing with them for a share of the £25k giveaway for our region are:

Little Treasures Autism Charity; If U Care Share Foundation; Bradford Cinderella Club; Jacqui's Million - Leeds Hospital; Charity; Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and Jigsaw, Cumbria’s Children’s Hospice.

Now we are putting the power to allocate the cash back into the hands of you - our readers.

During November, you are invited to collect tokens that will be appearing in The Press which can then be sent to collection points across our region or posted.

Each token collected will then be used to allocate cash to the nominated charity – so if your favourite charity collects 50 per cent of all to tokens collected, it will receive 50 per cent of the £25,000!

Collection points will be located at:

Morrisons, Foss Island, Road, YO31 7UR

Morrisons, 4 Front Street, Acomb, YO24 3BZ

Tesco, Stirling Road, Clifton Moor, YO30 4XZ

Co-op, 103-104 Hull Road, YO10 3LQ

Fishergate News, 32 Fishergate, YO10 4AB

Wigginton Village Stores, 64 The Village, YO32 2PS

Broadway News & PO, 44 Broadway, YO10 4JX

Co-op, 63 Market Place, Pocklington,YO42 2AE

You can also post the coupons directly to us, please mark your envelope: Readers Choice Cash Charity, York Press, 84-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN.

Our two local charities:

Two of the eight charities are local to York - here is some more information about them and why you should support them:

York Rescue Boat

The York Rescue Boat is an independent lifeboat and search and rescue charity based in York.

It was nominated by Matthew Sellers, a volunteer who joined York Rescue Boat shortly after it was set up in 2015.

Like many of the volunteers, Matthew has a job and then goes 'on call' for the rescue boat service, often being out in all weathers and at all times of the day and night.

He said: "Our volunteers provide 24/7 365 day support to both the police and fire service when dealing with water-related emergencies in the York area.

York Rescue Boat delivers educational workshops that could save lives

"A key aspect of the drowning prevention work is our educational outreach programme delivering water safety education in schools, colleges and youth groups.

"With your support, money raised would be used to increase and improve our education, by purchasing additional equipment. This will enable us to teach more young people lifesaving water safety knowledge and help reduce the number of fatalities."

Matthew said the education workshops were delivered to schools and universities - and added that they had a recent request to give one to soldiers at Fulford.

"Our workshops are tailored to different levels and teach people how to stay safe around water," he said.

"We teach them how to ring 999, how to get help, how to know where they are, we try to make it as interactive as possible and get them involved."

Many sessions have been held over Zoom during the pandemic, and money would be spent on equipment such as microphones to help volunteers deliver these sessions, he added.

He said that during lockdown many people across the country drowned in rivers and lakes - even good swimmers - and it was more important than ever that people learned about water safety and what to do if they got into difficulty. He said people did not appreciate that jumping into cold water could kill you.

He added: "We don't have a massive budget, but for us, education is really important. If we save one life it is worth it."

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a UK charity with a base near Pocklington which trains dogs to help deaf people get their lives back.

James Jones, one of the many people who nominated the charity, said: "We have a core group of volunteers and staff based in and around York who train dogs in their homes, local streets, shops and cafes, to prepare them to be life changers. York is our closest city to our northern centre and one of our key training grounds for our clever dogs."

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People - it costs £45,000 to pay for each assistance dog

Each dog costs £45,000, which includes everything from puppy training to supporting the dog in its life assisting a deaf person, paying for food and vets bills and providing support for the deaf partner.

The charity and its volunteers train dogs to help deaf adults and children by alerting them to sounds in the home and outdoors (such as alarms, doorbells, phones). This makes them feel safe and less isolated. Many deaf people are afraid to leave the house and the dog gives them more confidence and helps them to get on with everyday life.

June Scatchard, a volunteer trainer with the charity, said the money would be used to train more hearing dog puppies to help deaf and hearing-impaired people in the York area to stay safe and reconnect with those around them.

She said: "Hearing Dogs alert their partners to sounds like the door bell, bedside alarm and smoke alarms. By wearing their special burgundy uniform they let the public know their partner is deaf - an often hidden disability. They become their owner's best friend and help them to overcome feelings of fear, loneliness and isolation."

Terms and conditions:

Newsquest terms and conditions will apply where relevant to the grants process; please visit http://www.newsquest.co.uk/prize-competition-rules.

Only original voting coupons will be accepted, no photocopies.