A CAMPAIGN has been launched to save a charity which offers vital support for local young people suffering from learning difficulties.

Staff from Ryedale Special Families are urging residents to donate old and broken mobile phones, which will generate much-needed cash for the beleaguered organisation.

The Gazette & Herald is supporting the initiative after the Old Malton-based charity missed out on vital funding from both the Big Lottery and Children in Need earlier this year.

About £35,000 is needed to save the group which helps around 330 families from across Ryedale and beyond.

Chief officer David Brewster said if everybody in the area donated their unused mobile phones it would solve all their financial worries.

He said: “It was a huge disappointment when we learned that our funding bids were unsuccessful. The problem is that Ryedale is viewed as an affluent area and we do not score highly because of this. As a result we have been forced to cut some services but we are a positive organisation and we will not give up easily. Therefore we have launched a new appeal, which, if everybody supported it, would end our financial troubles. Most households have broken or used mobile phones lying about and it’s a great way of getting financial support without asking directly for money.”

The charity was set up 11 years ago and is the only organisation in the district which offers advice in Ryedale, York or Scarborough to families of youngsters who suffer from a range of learning disabilities and medical conditions.

From its headquarters it runs clubs, offers respite care and informal get-togethers for parents to lend support to each other.

One of the families which regularly uses its services is Glenda Hepple, from Welburn, and her three children, aged between 11 and 15, who all have special needs. The devoted mother, who is disabled and suffers from fits, said the charity helps her family when they have nowhere else to turn.

She said: “The support Ryedale Special Families give is second-to-none and I don’t know what I would have done without them when I moved to the area.

“They help the children with their socialisation and teach them how to cope with life outside the home and school. Two of my children love horses and it was through them that they are now working at a local vet’s practice at the weekend.

“They give the children confidence, which not only benefits the young person but the whole community. Through their help these children can be useful members of society, when otherwise they could just be written off. The amazing thing is they just give their time and ask for nothing in return from us. If I ever won the lottery I know what I would do with the money.”

The appeal is run through a group called FoneAid which gives the charity £3 for every handset donated. Handsets are then sent to developing countries such as Africa where they are re-used.

Anybody with any donations can drop them off at the Gazette & Herald office in Yorkersgate, Malton, or the charity’s base at 121 Town Street, Old Malton. There are also collection points at all libraries in the district as well as Jackson’s supermarket in Malton or Community House in Wentworth Street, Malton.