Appeal fund raises £20,000 in under six months (From Gazette & Herald)

Appeal fund raises £20,000 in under six months

NEARLY £20,000 has been raised for the Old Meeting House Fire Appeal Fund in less than six months.

The delighted director of the popular Helmsley arts venue, Martin Vander Weyer, said local fund-raising and a number of generous donations had helped the success of the appeal.

He said the fund had recently been given a private donation of £5,000 and supporters were still hoping to raise another £10,000 to make improvements to the venue.

Mr Vander Weyer said the roof structure was now on the building and the workmen were getting into the internal works and various technical improvements to the building.

The money raised will go towards a number of improvements on various aspects of the building including the heating, the ventilation, the stage lighting, the sound systems and the back stage equipment.

"One of the consolations is the improvements on things we didn't get right the first time," said Mr Vander Weyer.

"It's been a rather long winter in the sense that it feels a long time since the fire in the middle of August, and there's still a lot of work."

However, he said, all being well, work is on track for a reopening of the OMH at the end of April.

He said the fund-raising was still continuing in many forms throughout the district. The Friends of the Old Meeting House are putting together a recipe book and Ryedale School has chosen the OMH as one of its charities for this year.

Speaking of the cookery book, secretary of the Friends of the Old Meeting House Judy Plummer said: "The idea was to collect recipes from the Friends of the OMH, publish it and sell it."

"I've had a variety of recipes from all over, some are every-day, some look quite exciting," said Judy.

She said that even Dame Judy Dench, who is a member of the advisory committee, had submitted one.

Head teacher Geoff Jenkinson said Ryedale School had chosen to support the Old Meeting House Fire Appeal because of its close proximity and because a lot of the pupils use it and get enjoyment from it.

"We've had plays acted there, bands there and business education evenings there, as well as children being private individual members," said Mr Jenkinson.

He said it was a school idea to support the appeal and a non-uniform day is planned for this Friday. He said he hoped that this, along with collection boxes for the pupils to donate spare change, would allow them to raise around £500 for the venue.

Mr Vander Weyer said he talked to the top years at assembly at the school last week. "When I asked how many had been along, almost all of them stuck their hands up."

Local artists are also getting involved by donating their work to be sold off at an auction supper in aid of the appeal.

Work by notable artists including Peter Hicks, Patrick Nuttgens, Martyn Beckett and the newspaper cartoonist Michael Heath will be auctioned throughout the evening.

Tickets for the auction, which will be held at the Carlton Lodge Hotel on Friday, March 2, at 6.30pm, are £10 including supper.

If you would like to become a Friend of the Old Meeting House, the subscription is £10 a year. This gives members a concessionary price on tickets and priority booking at the start of each season.

If you are interested, contact Judy Plummer on (01751) 432230.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the appeal fund is invited to send a cheque to The OMH Fire Appeal, Helmsley, YO62 5DW, or make a call to the box office on (01439) 771700 to make a credit card donation.

Updated: 10:24 Friday, February 02, 2001