Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding joins Yorkshire Children's Charity to help young people in poverty

By The Newsroom

Published 27th Nov 2023, 11:50 BST

Years later, the Yorkshire-born novelist and screenwriter has found herself highlighting the hardships of children much closer to home. Fielding has become an official ambassador for Yorkshire Children’s Charity, following a recent appearance at a fundraising event a stone’s throw from where she grew up in Morley, West Yorkshire. In her new role, Fielding will be supporting the charity’s mission to transform childhoods and make things better for the thousands of disadvantaged children in the region.

“I was both honoured and shocked to be speaking at an event [in Wakefield] to raise money for child poverty in Yorkshire, where I grew up and where a third of all children are now living in poverty,” Fielding says. “When I worked as journalist in East Africa, I was used to talking about children who didn’t have food, access to proper healthcare schooling or shelter in Ethiopia or the Sudan - but in Yorkshire?

“It’s not right, as my Mum would have said. But northern people are good at rolling up their sleeves and helping, which is exactly what the Yorkshire Children’s Charity is doing...I’m looking forward to joining the team in their work to give all Yorkshire’s children a chance to experience a happier childhood."

Charlotte Farrington, CEO of Yorkshire Children's Charity, with Helen Fielding.

At the recent fundraiser, Fielding delivered an anecdote-packed talk, recounting memories of growing up in Morley and attending school in Yorkshire, as well as reflecting on her time spent creating one of fiction’s much-loved characters- Bridget Jones. The event raised more than £17,500 for the Yorkshire Children’s Charity Christmas and Winter Essentials’ Appeal, which was launched with the aim of providing children living in poverty across the region with presents, as well as new coats and shoes, over the winter months.

The appeal has already received three times the number of applications than it did throughout the whole of winter last year, a statistic charity CEO Charlotte Farrington says reveals the devastating impact that the cost-of-living crisis is having on children in the region.

“I think it’s going to be a full on Christmas again this year but we’re committed to doing the best we can to meet the demand," she told The Yorkshire Post last month. “It will probably end up outstripping supply but like everything we do, we’ll give it our best.”

She adds now: “To have Helen wave the flag for the children of Yorkshire and our work is deeply humbling and a real act of incredible kindness. We are extremely grateful for her support and know that together, we can continue to make a difference to the thousands of children at a disadvantage, across our region facing unimaginable challenges in these desperate times."