Back in February a fundraiser at Overgate Hospice received a shock when she answered the phone to woman-of-the-moment, Sarah Lancashire from the hit series Happy Valley. Sarah called to offer her support to the charity through a collaboration with local company, The Yorkshire Soap Company.
As previously reported, Sarah Lancashire gifted a bespoke Happy Valley candle to the cast and crew of the hit tv show as they wrapped filming last summer. Sarah had shopped at The Yorkshire Soap Company’s Hebden Bridge store throughout the filming of all three series of Happy Valley and chose to work with the Yorkshire based company to create the special candle. The response to the story generated lots of interest and The Yorkshire Soap Company were inundated with requests by keen fans of the show and their products, eager to get their hands on their very own Sergeant Catherine Cawood Candle.
The company quickly identified an opportunity to release a limited number of these special candles with all of the proceeds from the sale going to a charity. Marcus and Warren, owners of The Yorkshire Soap Company, invited Sarah Lancashire and Sally Wainwright, writer of Happy Valley, to choose the charity to benefit.
Sally, an Ambassador of Overgate Hospice, suggested that the proceeds should go to Overgate Hospice after the show was filmed here in 2015. The Hospice was used as a filming location for scenes in which a character was receiving end-of-life care.
The interest in the limited edition candles was phenomenal with requests from as far away as the USA! The initial batch sold out within three hours. A second batch was then released which was equally popular. Suzanne Benn, Business Partnerships Manager at Overgate Hospice was overwhelmed when she received the call to say that the sales had raised £10,000.
Warren, co-owner of the Yorkshire Soap Company said ‘We are so pleased to have helped raise £10,000 for a charity that has touched so many hearts within the Calderdale Community. We hope that this will go a long way to support patients receiving care at Overgate Hospice and furthermore support their families.’
Alison Harwood, Chief Executive at Overgate Hospice, said, ‘We have been overwhelmed by the support shown by The Yorkshire Soap Company as well as Sarah and Sally. The response to the candle has been incredible and this whole story has created such a buzz at the Hospice. Like many other charities, Overgate is feeling the impact of the cost of living crisis and support like this really does make a big difference to our ability to provide essential end-of-life care to our local community. I’d like to express heartfelt thanks on behalf of the Hospice to Sally and Sarah, as well as Warren and Marcus from The Yorkshire Soap Company.’
Following the success of the charity candle Overgate were invited to meet Marcus and Warren at The Soap Kitchen and the team expressed that they would like to select Overgate as the company’s chosen charity!
Marcus, co-owner of The Yorkshire Soap Company, said ‘We are proud to announce that Overgate Hospice is now our chosen charity and we are excited about working together on this new partnership’
Suzanne, said ‘I am delighted that The Yorkshire Soap Company have chosen to continue to support Overgate Hospice and become official partners, I am looking forward to us exploring opportunities that will help both ourselves and The Yorkshire Soap Company achieve our long-term goals.’
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