Leeds charities, Holbeck Together and Re:establish, will benefit from the £15,000 raised at an event organised by Jonathan Morgan which took place at Leeds Harvey Nichols.
Jonathan is the founder of Morgans, the pioneering property company he began in 1997. As a thank you to clients and staff, Morgans hosted a Christmas party every year, so it seemed fitting when the company was sold in 2019 to continue the party as a way of raising funds for local good causes. Holbeck Together and Re:establish are two charities the Morgan family has been supporting since the first Covid lockdown.
Jonathan: ‘’We really didn’t want to confine what had become something of an institution to history, just because we sold our business. So, we decided to reinvent the Morgans Christmas Party as a fundraiser. Both Holbeck Together and Re:establish work tirelessly, and on a shoe-string, to hold together a community which is under immense strain. Over the past few years, supporting these small but powerful charities has become a big part of our lives.’’
Holbeck Together was established as Holbeck Elderly Aid in 1992, originally as a Neighbourhood Network, providing a wide range of services and support to a diverse and disadvantaged community, including the delivery of meals, food parcels, prescriptions, and well-being packs. The charity has a dedicated, skilled team that work hard to ensure that no-one is left behind.
Elissa Newman, CEO at Holbeck Together: “We provide a variety of services, activities and opportunities for local people including a successful kid’s club, as well as hosting a full programme of activities for people across all age groups. The time and money Jonathan and his family have dedicated to our small charity has made all the difference, and we would like to thank everyone who bought a ticket and attended the event. The money will go a long way at Holbeck Together.”
Jo Sunderland, Team Leader and Development Manager at Re:establish: “We are a small but dynamic organisation with a focus on young people, their future and their families. We run lots of initiatives and programmes, including what we would all recognise as a youth club, and focus on helping youngsters to develop skills, self-awareness and resilience, as they seek to break the cycle of exclusion, under-achievement and adversity, which is so prevalent in South Leeds.
We are very grateful to the Morgan family and everyone who came to the event who made this possible, ensuring that collectively we can achieve more! It’s given us a great start to the year, knowing that people believe in you and understanding the positive impact this will have on the lives of our local young people in Beeston and Holbeck.”
Jonathan: “We are hugely grateful to our clients and friends, 200 of whom paid to attend our event for the first time in 15 years. We are also incredibly thankful to Phil, Sally and the whole team at Harvey Nichols for their generosity in helping to make the event viable, without compromising on quality. Harvey Nichols also donated three fabulous raffle prizes, which raised over £2,000 on the night!
It is our intention to hold the event each Christmas and to continue to support these two incredible charities, who do so much to make sure that Leeds looks after its own’’.
For more information about Re:establish, visit www.reestablish.org.uk
For more information about Holbeck Together, visit https://www.holbecktogether.org/
Photograph, from left to right: Jonathan Morgan, Rachel Morgan, Jo Sunderland from Re:establish and Elissa Newman from Holbeck Together.
(Editor note: Our writer Helen Morgan is not a relation of Jonathan and Rachel Morgan.)
