Keighley Amateur Junior Singing Group

A CHILDREN'S concert is set to mark the end of a mammoth fundraising enterprise for the benefit of young patients at a hospital serving much of the southern Yorkshire Dales.

The celebratory concert comes after a two-year appeal which has raised a massive £155,000 for the Children's Unit at Airedale Hospital, near Keighley.

The organisers, 'Friends of Airedale' and 'Airedale New Venture' who launched the appeal to improve the facilities of the Children's Unit are holding the event to celebrate and say to 'thank you' to the community for their help in raising the funds towards the project.

Organiser Mike Yates, an Airedale New Venture Volunteer says: This is our way of having a great end to all the hard work our volunteers and the local community have put in to raising money for our Children's Unit.

"The concert will be by children for children and we have so many local schools and dance groups taking part it will be a really fantastic event. Please come along for what will be a really fun entertaining afternoon and give us the final support for this very important appeal."

Nine local schools and dance groups have been involved in fundraising and will be taking part in the concert. They include:

• Giggleswick Primary School
• Westville House School, Ilkley
• Malsis School, Crosshills
• Keighley Amateur Junior Singing Club
• Northern Dance Group, Skipton
• Bingley Dance Studio
• Aaloron Group
• Lynn Baglio School of Dance, Keighley

The concert is to take place on Saturday 9th June at Victoria Hall, Keighley starting at 2.30pm.

To date the fund stands at £155,000 and a presentation of a cheque will be made at the concert to the Airedale NHS Trust. This does not mean the fund is now closed and there are many other events planned over the summer months including a Charity Dinner at Malham and a masquerade Dance in Skipton.