Lord Mayor Elect, Cllr Margaret Wells, has revealed her chosen charities for her next year in office.
Cllr Margaret Wells will take on the role of Lord Mayor again from Thursday 21 May 2026 for 12 months – having previously held the position between May 2024 and May 2025.
Currently the Deputy Lord Mayor, she will replace Cllr Martin Rowley who currently holds the position of office. Margaret has announced Geoff Cossins as her Sheriff; Geoff also comes with civic experience having been the Sheriff’s consort during Margaret’s first term in office.
Each year the civic party can select up to four charities and name them the official ‘Lord Mayor Charity’ for their year in office – and the headline charity for 2026-27 will be York Cares.
“I came across York Cares during my last year in office and I was touched by the work that the team do right across the city,” said Margaret. “The charity delivers a direct benefit to the residents particularly those more isolated and the stories truly are heartwarming.”
Leanne Shaw, York Cares operations manager said, “York Cares is a charity with York at its heart. The charity has been committed to making the city a better place through social action for over 20 years.
“Through our programmes, we improve urban green spaces; inspire young people to reach their full potential and combat loneliness and social isolation. Working in partnership with over 30 of the city’s leading employers, we make a tangible difference where it is needed most.
“In 2025, we engaged 2,055 employee-volunteers who dedicated 10,250 hours of their time – the equivalent of 1,280 working days (or 3.5 years!) to supporting the city.
“We improved over 37 green sites across the city; inspired over 3,000 pupils; connected over 270 older and younger neighbours and over 4,800 items were donated through our collections to support local voluntary and community organisations.”
The fundraising will be supported by a new community group, Shared York. Created by Will Zhuang, it aims to bring people together through small, inclusive cultural and wellbeing activities that ‘celebrate local stories, support local creatives and help residents and visitors connect respectfully’.
On ‘Shared York’, Cllr Margaret Wells said, “Tourists to the city play a vital role, particularly within the economy and with this brings many tangible benefits to the residents.
“I am pleased to help promote the work of Shared York on ensuring that the residents get to see the benefits that tourism brings – particularly with different cultures, which I know that the residents do embrace to ensure that our beautiful city can be enjoyed by everyone.”
There are already several planned fundraising events which will be announced very soon ranging from Afternoon Teas, Dinners and PIG racing.
Find out more about York Cares at their website here.
