Our trustees As a charity, Yorkshire Cat Rescue is governed by a board of trustees. They make the decisions about how the charity will operate and what direction it will take. Expand Our trustees are Lyndon Campbell (our Chair). Lyndon’s particular area of expertise is commercial property and he has been invaluable when setting up Yorkshire Cat Rescue’s charity shops. Lyndon has three cats Macey, Barney and Cherry (an ex-YCR kitten). Lyndsey Randall (our Secretary). Lyndsey started volunteering at Yorkshire Cat Rescue after adopting her first cat, Maisie, and became Secretary several years ago. As Secretary, Lyndsey is responsible for ensuring that all our minutes etc are maintained and up to date. Lyndsey regularly volunteers at the centre on Friday mornings, and can often be seen out and about at fundraising events. Lyndsey has two cats, Benjamin and Ranger. Hannah Bates. Hannah is a lawyer and assists with any legal issues which face Yorkshire Cat Rescue. She is on a one-woman crusade to adopt every kitten in the world, and so far has five – Sausage, Mash, Splodge, Smudge and Stilton. Anne-Marie Dewhirst. As an accountant working in the public sector, Anne-Marie is well placed to assist Yorkshire Cat Rescue with budgets, forecasting and income distribution. Anne-Marie has “several” cats. Andrew McDougall. Andrew is, by training, a lawyer and he was Senior Partner of a large commercial solicitors practice. He now acts as a consultant. Andrew also has experience in HR and as such he oversees staff and volunteer recruitment and HR issues, as well as being responsible for Yorkshire Cat Rescue’s staffing and volunteer policies. Andrew has twelve cats and lives on a small-holding in North Yorkshire. Andrew and his wife also operate a Charitable Foundation on the small-holding supporting animal welfare initiatives, and in addition to the twelve cats keep a range of domestic and farm animals. Judith Robertshaw. Judith is retired and has been volunteering at Yorkshire Cat Rescue for some time - both at the centre and in one of the shops and also does some of the volunteer driving. She has one cat, Dino.
Our staff Yorkshire Cat Rescue employs a small team of staff to care for and manage the cats and to undertake admin and management duties. Expand The small team of staff at the centre comprises: Sara, founder who deals with the overall management of the charity. Sam, Head of Cat Care and Rebecca, Megan, Catherine and Cathryn, Cat Care Assistants who take care of the cats on a daily basis, making sure all the cats have the appropriate level of care and veterinary treatment. Sam is also volunteer coordinator. You will meet the Cat Care team if you bring a cat to our centre or if you adopt a cat. Lucie and Lucy (Team Lucyie), Rescue Coordinators who manage cat movements in and out of the centre, put cats up for adoption when they're ready, answer all the emails and Facebook messages and some of the phone calls. They also deal with any queries about the centre. Hayley, Communications Assistant who deals with communications (including social media). Adrian, Accounts Assistant who manages all the bill payments and counts the takings. Nic and Jo, our fundraisers who generate lots of money to pay all those horrid bills.
Our patron Best-selling romantic novelist, Milly Johnson, is our patron. Expand Barnsley born romantic novelist Milly Johnson, author of books such as ‘A Spring Affair’, ‘Here Come The Girls’ and “The Teashop on the Corner” is our Patron. Milly first became known to Yorkshire Cat Rescue, then Haworth Cat Rescue, when she lived in Haworth. She became friends with our founder Sara, adopted a couple of cats from us, and the rest is history. Milly supports us by visiting us when she is in the area, and having collections for us during her book launches. Milly also refers to the Maud Haworth Home for Cats in some of her books … we’re pretty sure this is us! In 2020, Milly was awarded the Romantic Novelists' Association's Outstanding Achievement Award. If you would like to read more about Milly and her books, then you can find more information here
Our shops staff Our shops have small teams of staff, ably supported by volunteers. Expand Kathy is our Shops Area Manager. Her role is to oversee the shops and to set up new shops when the trustees feel it appropriate. In the Keighley shop, there is Jenny the Manager, Paula the Assistant Manager and Diane and Rebecca as Retail Assistants. In the Halifax shop, there is Rebecca the Manager, Samantha the Assistant Manager and Lorraine, Diane and Gail as Retail Assistants. In the Brighouse shop there is Rachel the Manager and Karen the Assistant Manager. In the Skipton shop, there is Charlotte the Manager and Karen (a different one) the Assistant Manager. Issey sells on eBay for Yorkshire Cat Rescue - this is a valuable source of income. Paul is the driver - he takes stock from one shop to another to ensure all shops are fully stocked.