2024 - A Year of Charitable Activities and Community Events

Having been established since 1886, we have developed deep ties to our local communities in Calderdale and Kirklees, and we are ardent supporters of charities and good causes that serve these areas.

As in previous years, 2024 has seen us participate in a broad range of activities and events, some of which we have highlighted below.

Charity support

Once again, we are proud to support the incredible work undertaken by some of our local charities. The major charity event in the Wilkinson Woodward calendar is our annual quiz night at the Shay Stadium in support of Overgate Hospice. This year saw 20 teams compete for bragging rights, with the Northowram Reader Group achieving the highest score after a nail-biting tiebreaker.

Together with the traditional pie and pea supper and raffle, the event raised £1400 for Overgate. Our thanks go to the many quizzers who took part and to the individuals and businesses that generously donated prizes. In addition to the quiz night, we also supported Overgate Hospice Golf Day at Bradley Hall Golf Club through sponsorship of the 4-ball team event.

In June, we supported the Halifax Charity Gala, Calderdale’s biggest charity event, through advertising in its programme. Raising funds for the borough’s good causes since 1957, the gala regularly attracts thousands of people who come to watch its town centre parade and events at Manor Heath.

Another charity we support is the Halifax, Huddersfield, Bradford & District Branch of the RSPCA. 2024 saw us continue to be a Gold Sponsor of its annual K9 Party in the Park event, also held at Manor Heath. Raising much-needed funds for the RSPCA in its 200^th year, the event included dog shows, children's activities and stalls from local companies.

November saw members of the Wilkinson Woodward team running a stall at the Brighouse Christmas Market, where children could meet Santa, take part in a drawing competition and win a prize from Brighouse’s Lego-themed toy store, Brick Shack. Like last year, this was in support of Brighouse-based charity, Focus4Hope, which does incredible work helping the town’s most vulnerable people, including running a food bank.

Arts and community events

This year saw us continuing our tradition of supporting local arts and community events across Kirklees and Calderdale, including the sponsorship of the Halifax Light Opera Society (HLOS) Juniors by advertising in their programme. HLOS has been dazzling local audiences with performances since 1907 and by supporting the juniors we hope we can help the next generation of talented performers put on even more great shows.

Staying with music, we continued our sponsorship of the Almondbury Jazz Festival by advertising in the programme for another year. This year the event saw nine jazz bands play in five different venues around the village, with the funds raised once again going to Platform 1, a Huddersfield mental health charity.

As the birthplace of Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, and acclaimed TV writer, Sally Wainwright (who also lived in Sowerby Bridge), Huddersfield has a proud literary heritage. The Huddersfield Literature Festival, which we have supported for 10 years, plays a key role in promoting literature in the borough and this year we were delighted to sponsor the Mark Billingham and Abir Mukherjee event.

The Brighouse 1940s weekend is one of the town’s biggest events of the year, attracting over 40,000 visitors, many in costume, who come to enjoy the nostalgic trip back in time. Keen to get involved, the Wilkinson Woodward team set up a stall offering a colouring competition for children. The first prize was a Grand Prix mini-bike racing experience from Brighouse’s Mini GP.

An event that draws large crowds in the run-up to Christmas is the Halifax Minster Tree Festival, which sees the 15^th-century church bedecked with an array of artfully decorated Christmas trees. After having so much fun creating a tree last year, the team was more than happy to get the trimmings on the 9ft tree we sponsored.

On the sporting front, we took a one-year banner sponsorship with Old Crossleans RUFC. More than just a rugby union club, ‘Old Crocs’ is a community that has supported grassroots sports in the area for over a century. Today, it offers opportunities for children and adults alike to participate in rugby, cricket, squash and racquetball by providing excellent facilities and training.

Charity Walk

This year saw the sad loss of our much-loved colleague and friend, Roy Dunn. A lover of the outdoors, Roy often went for long walks with his beloved wife, Judith and dog, Sadie. To remember Roy, the team embarked on a 30-mile charity walk to raise funds for Spring Hill Hospice, which supported Roy through his illness. The route linked our offices in Halifax, Huddersfield and Brighouse, and the total amount raised for the hospice was over £3,000.

Pro bono work

As a legal firm, Wilkinson Woodward is ideally placed to support local good causes by providing pro bono services. In 2024 we have negotiated leases for several shops across Calderdale for Overgate Hospice; carried out conveyancing work for the Next Step Trust, a charity established by parents that supports adults with learning disabilities, autism and complex health needs; and provided legal services to The Friends of Slaithwaite Millpond, a heritage and environmental regeneration project, in changing its legal status from being a Constituted Organisation to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.

As the year comes to a close, we would like to thank our clients, partners and suppliers for their support during 2024, and we look forward to continuing our support of local charities and good causes in 2025.