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Gareth’s blog: What it means to be a proud Yorkshireman!

In his latest blog, our CEO shares why he’s proud to be a Yorkshireman!

Happy Yorkshire Day. The white Yorkshire rose above a photograph of the Yorkshire countryside

What it means to be a proud Yorkshireman!


During lockdown, I walked for miles.

I didn’t drive anywhere to do it, I walked from our front door and explored the local countryside around Huddersfield.

It made me realise just how lucky we all are to live in such a beautiful place. Within 15 minutes, I can be in the middle of nowhere, at peace with just fresh air and wildlife for company (and sometimes my bonkers spaniel Milo!).

It makes me proud to be from Yorkshire. Proud to live in Yorkshire. Proud to work in Yorkshire.

In my role as CEO at Forget Me Not, I’m privileged to meet lots of inspirational local people. Families, colleagues, volunteers, businesses, supporters and key stakeholders – without our brilliant, diverse community across (West) Yorkshire, we literally could not do what we do day in, day out to support local families. And that makes me proud too.

Supporting families from across West Yorkshire

People often think that because our hospice, Russell House, is based in Huddersfield, that we only support people from that one location. In fact, we’re proud to say that we support families from right across Kirklees, Calderdale, Wakefield, Bradford, Leeds and beyond. Whether at home, in the community, in hospital or here at Russell House, we support families from across the whole region.

All thanks to our founder, Linda, who lived in Calderdale. She saw a need for a children’s hospice right here in the middle of West Yorkshire so that families just like hers could get the support that they desperately needed.

I hope that today, all these years later, Linda would be really proud of the charity that we’ve become and the support that we have given to many hundreds of local families since she worked so hard to get Forget Me Not off the ground. We’re incredibly proud of our story so far.

I hope that today, all these years later, Linda would be really proud of the charity that we’ve become and the support that we have given to many hundreds of local families since she worked so hard to get Forget Me Not off the ground. We’re incredibly proud of our story so far.

Gareth Pierce, CEO

Want to know more?

In true Yorkshire fashion, our doors are always open at Russell House for a cup of nice Yorkshire Tea and the opportunity to tell you more about the work that we do. If you’d like to take us up on that offer, you can contact us here.

Happy Yorkshire Day!