Who should win each of our Listener Choice Awards?  You can vote now in as many categories as you wish. Here are the six finalists.

Helping Other People in Need Group - HOPING Street Kitchen

About Them

HOPING Street Kitchen are a team of volunteers whom give up  our time up to feed, clothe and chat to the homeless. We are  there 52 weeks a year on Kings Square every Wednesday and Sunday Night from 5.30-7.30pm.  

Everything we do is self-funded and from donations and through the generosity of our volunteers. We are very fortunate to receive food donations from Greggs, Marks and Spencer's, Farm Foods, Coop, Pret a Manger, Aldi but are always looking out for additional support.

We take part in fundraisers such as bag packing, community family days / fetes, sponsored events, street collections, amazon wish lists.

We provide the homeless and those in need in York with Hot Food, Pack ups, Cakes and Biscuits and a nice Cuppa and a Food and Clothes / Sleeping Bags Bank but probably more importantly Friendship. Some days we may be the only people whom have spoken to them or made conversation with them and can often guide them in the right direction for additional medical, financial and personal support.

Why Should They Win?

HOPING Street Kitchen was founded by Kym and Alex Brown and are now a regular  team of  15-20 volunteers whom give up  their time up to feed, clothe and chat to the homeless. We are  there 52 weeks a year on Kings Square every Wednesday and Sunday Night from 5.30-7.30pm.  

Everything we do is self-funded,  we are fortunate enough  to receive food and clothing  donations from  some local stores and people who message us on our social media sites which the volunteers collect during the week . The volunteers also  then cook hot meals  and drinks and provide food to eat at the street kitchen and / or to take away with them. For those service users that  are unable to attend the kitchen we also do drop offs to the local hostels or will walk around town dropping items off to those on the street or doorways.

Winning this award would be great recognition of all the hard work our volunteers do but more importantly would raise the awareness of the homeless and those in need in York and increase the profile of what we do for others to come forward to see how they can assist us further. 

Cancer Research UK Relay For Life

About Them

Relay For Life is a team challenge bringing communities together to beat cancer. Teams of family and friends, any age, any ability, fundraise all year for life-saving cancer research, then all the teams join together, along with cancer Survivors for a 24 hour relay to celebrate our success. The event is organised and run by volunteers and is a family fun day, the idea is that at least 1 person from each team takes it in turns to walk the track throughout the 24 hours. Cancer never sleeps and neither do we.

At Relay For Life there are special moments that bring everyone together. We invite VIP Guests of Honour, those who are cancer survivors who walk the first lap of honour, they are then treated to afternoon tea. As the sun goes down, we hold our Candle Of Hope Ceremony when we light candles and remember our loved ones who have lost their battle, but also to celebrate the lives of those still with us. The candles are lit all around the track to light our way through the darkness. 

The 24 hours finishes with our closing ceremony to celebrate our achievements and inspire us to continue fundraising.

Why Should They Win?

Last year was our first Relay For Life in York, with a target of £26K, our amazing teams raised £55K. Our 2nd Relay in York on 3rd/4th August this year and with a target of £50K we have already raised almost £73K, we continue fundraising until October. This event really is very special, it is a community, family fun event to raise awareness and raise vital funds for cancer research.

Our opening ceremony began with a speech from a local scientist, telling us about his work at York University looking into new treatments for breast cancer. We also had a cancer survivor telling her inspiring journey and how the work that Cancer Research UK does has meant that she is alive today to spend precious time with her family.

Today more people are surviving cancer, 40 years ago survival rates were 1 in 4 people, today 2 in 4 people are surviving and the vision of CRUK is that in the next 20 years, 3 in 4 people will survive. It is imperative that we continue raising funds and raising awareness to make sure we reach that vision.

Relay is free to enter and we are entertained by local performers.

York Rescue Boat

About Them

York Rescue Boat is an independent lifeboat and search and rescue team based in York. The team aim to prevent people from entering the rivers in York.

The team are also involved in providing first aid, searching for missing persons and rescue from water. The team is on call to the emergency services 24 hour a day.

Why Should They Win?

This year the team fully staffed by volunteers have been involved in a large number of incidents so far the team have responded to 22 call outs, helped search for 8 missing persons, and saved 3 lives.

As well as the rescue and prevention side of the charity our education program so far this year has taught over 2000 people how to stay safe around water

St Leonard's Hospice

About Them

St Leonard's Hospice is an independent charity, providing specialist palliative care and support for local people with life limiting illnesses. The Hospice is made up of an In-patient Unit, Sunflower Centre and Hospice@Home service. Every patient is recognised and treated as an individual, and as a result are able to enjoy the best possible quality of life. Care also extends to support families and carers.

A hospice is not just a building; it is a way of caring for people. In addition to a team of highly experienced doctors and nurses, the Hospice has specialists in a wide range of roles including complementary therapy, lymphoedema care, physiotherapy, social work, bereavement, occupational therapy and spiritual care.

St Leonard's care is free of charge to patients and their families but not free to provide. The charity relies heavily on the generosity of the public to raise over £5.8 million each year that it takes to run St Leonard's Hospice. Although St Leonard's does get some public funding the majority of the running costs have to be raised from donations and fundraising by the local community - businesses, groups and individuals.

Why Should They Win?

A hospice can seem like a scary place as, often, it means you or someone you love is nearing end of life. Patients and their families and carers speak of how our staff were there when they needed it the most, and made things much easier at one of the most difficult periods in their life. As well as the In-patient Unit, our Sunflower Centre enables us to see patients much earlier in diagnosis and our Hospice@Home service gives patients the choice of receiving hospice care in their own home. Our care extends to families and carers through the Sunflower Centre and then bereavement support following the death of their loved one. 

We cover a population of over 370,000 people (which is more than the population of Iceland) and care for over 300 patients on the In-patient Unit, 200 patients in our Sunflower Centre and our Hospice@Home team sees over 500 patients in their own home each year.

We work closely with other care organisations and deliver end of life care training across the Vale of York including to care homes, homeless organisations, Benedictine convents and a Monastery. 

We currently hold an Outstanding rating, awarded by the Care Quality Commission.

The Snappy Trust

About Them

We are a registered Charity ( Number: 702190) working with Children and Young people with wide ranging disabilities .

Established in 1985 , we have been providing a service in York for over 34 years. Constantly growing, we now support over 200 Children and their families through a range of Schemes and events, during the week and through our School holiday programmes. 

Our work also involves working with over 100 volunteers from all walks of life. This can be Duke of Edinburgh students, university students, professionals, and senior citizens.  We provide training and support for all our staff, volunteers and families and will often deliver disability awareness to schools and colleges.

Why Should They Win?

Snappy has expanded and diversified our programmes over the many years in operation . We give Children and Young people a place of safety , fun and excitement to look forward to with a constant mix of activities and events. Our aim is to empower our Children and Young People by developing confidence , independence and social skills.

We are very proud of our reputation across the York area and of the work that our incredible team do to ensure that every Child or Young Person that comes to Snappy feels safe, valued and happy.

York Teaching Hospital Charity

About Them

York Teaching Hospital Charity cares for your local hospitals from York to the Yorkshire Coast.

With your help we can fund the extras to improve your healthcare facilities above and beyond the NHS making patients feel better.  We support staff in our hospitals to make the hospital experience the best it can be for all who visit and stay there. 

York Teaching Hospital Charity supports the work of:

• York Teaching Hospital
• Scarborough General Hospital
• Bridlington District Hospital
• New Selby War Memorial Hospital
• St Monica's in Easingwold
• St Helens Rehabilitation Hospital
• White Cross Court Rehabilitation Hospital
• Malton Hospital

Why Should They Win?

York Teaching Hospital Charity launched 'the Butterfly Appeal' in which we want to create a new maternity bereavement suite at York Hospital so that families can make memories to last a lifetime.

Every week at York Hospital a baby is born that will not survive. 

We know there is nothing that can take away the pain for these families following a late pregnancy loss, still birth or death of their baby soon after birth, but we also know how precious those few hours or days can be before they have to say their final goodbyes.

At York Hospital, staff are grateful to have a designated room for parents to use and stay in with their baby. However, it is just a room at present. It's quite small and functional and we know it has the potential to be much better. 

York Teaching Hospital Charity needs to raise £250,000 to create a new maternity bereavement suite which will provide a spacious, comfortable and safe space for parents.  

Please choose York Teaching Hospital as Charity of the Year.

Vote In All The Categories

To vote in our other categories please click which category you would like to vote in and then choose which business you want to win. Remember you can vote in as many categories as you wish!

Best Cafe or Tearoom

Best Hair & Beauty

Best Place To Stay

Best Tradesperson

Best Pub or Bar

Best Restaurant

Best Fish & Chip Shop

Best Wedding Venue

Best Entertainment Venue

Best Event

Best Charity Event

Best Small Gym

Best Large Gym

Best Under 18s Activity Group

Best Legal/Financial/Estate Agent Service

Best Independent High Street Business

Best New Business

Best Small Attraction

Best Large Attraction

Charity of the Year

Terms and Conditions

• The business must be within the Minster FM broadcast area which details can be found here.
• This competition is also governed by the offical terms and conditions of Minster FM which can be found here.
• In the event of a tie, all tied businesses will share the accolade or move forward to the next round of voting.
• The top six best performing businesses in each category will be shortlisted on Tuesday 17th September.

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