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Ilkley Duck Race profits donated to local charities and groups

Monday, 6 July 2026 07:57

Members of the IWRC and charity & community groups

Ilkley Wharfedale Rotary Club have made donations to twelve local charities after their Great Ilkley Duck Race in April raised £13,650.

Representatives of the charities gathered at the Club’s usual meeting place at the Riverside Hotel in Ilkley recently to celebrate receiving their donations and were thanked by Club President Derek Richards for all they do for the town:

“We have some remarkable charities that put in a lot of hard work for the benefit of many of our town’s communities and for its infrastructure and we are so pleased that our Duck Race can assist their efforts.

“The record sum raised this year was thanks to the generosity of the people of Ilkley, our many business supporters, and also to our magnificent sponsors”.

The charities receiving donations are: Ilkley Great Get Together, Friends of Ilkley Riverside Parks, Ilkley Food Bank, Wharfedale Air Cadets, LS29 Special Needs Support Group, Clarke Foley Centre, Nell Bank, Improving Ilkley, Ilkley Youth Club, Burley in Wharfedale Community Trust, Blue Bell Rural Activities and Active Fusion.

Also present at the Riverside for a celebratory glass were Stephen Kuhl, joint proprietor of Grove Mortgages, who were the main sponsors of the Duck Race, along with Ilkley BID and Ilkley Business Forum, who sponsored Business Race prizes. Town Crier Isabel Ashman, the popular Master of Ceremonies on Race Day, also attended in full costume, together with the Ilkley Mayor and Deputy Mayor in their Regalia.

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