February 2026

Our latest news

Help with digital and IT fluency

Digital Friendly York have told us of some drop in roadshows that they are putting on around the city between now and March.

There will be volunteers from Digital Friendly York, IT ReUse and MySight York, who will offer 1:1 assistance with any issues York residents have with their mobile phone, tablet or laptop.

For more information contact Misoon El-Gomati, Misoon.El-Gomati@york.gov.uk or phone 01904 554277

Keep up with all our news by signing up for our email updates.

Working age group offers a warm welcome

Sam Stubbings writes:


We are a group of people under 67 who are working age with Parkinson's and their families / partners. We meet monthly to share stories, advice, have fun and support each other. We welcome anyone who has Parkinson's or their partners / friends who would like to join us. 


We meet at The Windmill, Blossom Street, 6-8pm. The next few dates are:


Tuesday 20 January

Tuesday 17 February

Tuesday 17 March

Tuesday 21 April

Tuesday 19 May


See you there or please feel free to contact me if you would like to chat first. Warmest wishes Sam yorkpdypsg@gmail.com

Musical fundraisers hit the right notes

What a fantastic time we had in December with music and fundraising combined! York musician Paul Duckitt honoured singer and national treasure Ozzy Osbourne with a tribute gig. No fewer than nine bands gave their time for free, as did venue The Fulfordgate Club. With food and a raffle into the bargain, the brilliant gig raised a whopping £563 for our branch and national research. Huge thanks to everyone involved.

 

Riccall Village Voices choir annual Carol Concert held in St Mary’s church always raises funds for deserving charities. In 2025 Parkinson’s UK York branch was chosen. Tom Metcalfe is a choir member and made a short presentation of the impact of Parkinson’s on those like himself who have the condition and how Parkinson’s UK York branch has been able to support him.The generosity of the audience and choir resulted in £620 being raised. Thank you Riccall and the Village Voices.

 

And to round off the festivities, the wonderful ladies from the Track 29 acapella choir entertained diners at The Fox and Roman. They dedicated their performance to friends and loved ones affected by Parkinson’s and also raised funds to support the York Branch programme.

Launching our new table tennis class

We're delighted to say that our table tennis class is getting a makeover! New start, new venue: we'll be meeting from 6 January at the York Stadium Leisure Centre, Monks Cross, YO32 9AF.


The centre is easy to get to by bus, including the Park & Ride every 10 minutes from the city centre, or by car.


Want to know more? Email us or call us on 07943 137616  and leave a message.

Rugby on offer

York Knights rugby league club is offering tasters for walking rugby to our branch members. The initiative via the club’s charitable foundation is aimed at establishing regular sessions through the year.

 

Walking rugby has all the fun of the big game, but without tackling or scrums. A smaller pitch means players can keep fully involved as the ball moves around.

 

Just come along to the next one and give it a try! The next session is on  7 November, 1-2pm, cost £6 including a hot drink. All sessions are held at the LNER Community Stadium, YO32 9AF. More information from York Knights .

Stop press: there will be more sessions starting in January - details soon

 

The club is also running fish & chip Friday sessions for people to get together for lunch and a chat. The cost is from £6. You don’t need to be a player! These are held on the fourth Friday each month so the next is Friday 21 November. This one’s at York Manor Care Home, owned by Tanglewood, Shipton Road, YO30 5RA.

Celebrating our fantastic fundraisers!

It’s been a busy couple of months on the fundraising front so a big thankyou to everybody who has organised events, made donations or put in the hard yards.


Eating out

Deborah and Mike Broadhurst have a number of friends affected by Parkinson’s around the Haxby and Wigginton area and wanted to show their support. Around a hundred people attended their fundraiser at the Parvin Restaurant in Haxby in August. As well as superb food, guests enjoyed a fun quiz and raffle, raising £1,000 for York Branch. The money will support of our programme which encourages people affected by Parkinson’s to keep active and engaged.

And then Deborah and Mike went a step further (well, several steps actually) and completed the Great North Run, raising another almost £700 to support the Parkinson’s UK appeal to fund specialist nurses across the UK.


Half marathon

Also joining the 60,000 runners at the Great North Run on 8 September was popular York Branch member Andrew Miller who completed the course with his Nordic poles, supported by our walk leader Rebecca Gospodarczyk. This was a remarkable achievement and the culmination of two years of training. Andrew and Rebecca were spurred on by good wishes and generous donations from our walking footballers, Nordic walkers and PD Warriors who have all been inspired by Andrew’s determination and commitment. So far Andrew has raised over £2000 but you can still donate at https://events.parkinsons.org.uk/fundraisers/andrewmiller32134/great-north-run

 

Walking

 

Last but not least, congratulations to committee member Mike Sullivan who completed the Walking for Parkinson’s event at Temple Newsam on 21 September. Mike has also exceeded his £1000 target after tackling the six mile course. You can still support Mike by donating at https://events.parkinsons.org.uk/fundraisers/michaelsullivan with all proceeds supporting the Parkinson’s nurses appeal. And let’s also give a shout out to Mike’s partner Sue and PUK’s Tracy Westgarth who supported Mike on the day.

Delighted Mike and Sue are pictured crossing the finish line.

 

Can you help our committee?

We need people to help run the branch. Could you take up a committee role, such as membership secretary? Or perhaps you could shadow one of our committee members and help out with their work. Or maybe you could simply volunteer for one-off projects.


Any time you can spare will be a big help to keep our branch doing all the activities we offer in support of our members. Email us at info@yorkparkinsons.co.uk if you'd like to have a chat about what you might be able to offer.