VILLAGERS living in Burley-in-Wharfedale have been thanked for their fantastic support for a Reverse Advent Challenge.

Organised by Wharfedale Refugee Response, the initiative sees people invited to put one item of food into a box each day throughout advent.

This results in 25 items which were brought to the drop-off point at Burley Methodist Church on Sunday, January 5th, ready to be sent out to a variety of charities and organisations the next day.

Members of Wharfedale Refugee Response, headed by Catherine MacIntosh-Dixon, Alex Wright and Lucy Greveson, worked tirelessly throughout Sunday and Monday morning, receiving over 450 heavy boxes of donations and then organising their distribution to Refugee Action, PAFRAS, Leeds Refugee Forum, St. Vincent’s, Bradford Red Cross, Bradford Food Bank, Bradford Deaf Community, BIASAN, and The Orchard, the Salvation Army’s Centre for the Homeless in Bradford, which also happens to be Burley-in-Wharfedale Methodist Church’s current church charity for this year.

Catherine MacIntosh-Dixon thanked everyone else who had supported Wharfedale Refugee Response in this amazing project, including the volunteer drivers who had given up their time on Monday morning to ensure the boxes were quickly delivered to the receiving organisations.

Wharfedale Refugee Response, is a community group based in the village of Burley-in-Wharfedale who work together to make a positive difference for refugees and asylum seekers - in the local area and internationally.

For more information about Wharfedale Refugee Response, just visit their Facebook page.