About Chopsticks Charity

Chopsticks is a non-profit charity that caters for adults with disabilities, treating all our members as individuals to provide the best support possible; tailored to each person’s needs! The Charity was established by a small group of adults with learning disabilities that began working for themselves chopping firewood from scrap timber and selling it to the general public, thus creating ‘Chopsticks’, the charity we know and love today.

Kindling is at the heart of what we do but we also offer a range of other services and activities for our members such as crafts classes, mowing lawns and making gardenware products! Here we provide a very safe, fulfilling experience for our members and clients. The time they are here allows them to improve their social skills, gain confidence and form great friendships. They also gain work experience displaying their skills in contributing to the creation of high quality products.

Explore our website further to find out more about us!

Find out more about the Chopsticks project!

Our Team

Phil Bramhall

Community Business Manager

Phil is in charge of us all here at Chopsticks. He has a professional yet friendly attitude to work and shows real care and enthusiasm to the staff and in particular the members. His networking skills have helped put Chopsticks on the map and forged partnerships with local organisations.

Tasha Hartley

Senior Service Support Assistant

Tasha supports members in the workshop, helping them with her friendly and bubbly attitude. She is as at home driving the forklift truck as she is ensuring each and every member has the attention required on any given day.

Jan Glen

Charity and Community Business Administrator

Jan does the behind the scenes paperwork that keeps the business running smoothly; whether that be dealing with room hire, invoicing our services and products or fielding enquiries.

Emily Dalby

Service Support Assistant

Having previously supported some of our Members in their home environment, Emily has been a popular addition to the Chopsticks Team. A cheerful and outgoing person, her quick wit keeps us all on our toes.

Victoria Noone

Community Outreach Worker

To ensure that our Members are never without a little extra support where needed outside of Work, Victoria has joined the Team as our second Outreach worker. With her bubbly personality and kind heart she is a great support for them when Elaine is otherwise engaged.

Tracey Taylor

Workshop Supervisor

Tracey is the talent behind Chopshed that produces rustic garden ware such as planters, log sheds, tables and benches. Our in-house Mrs fix-it also helps keep our machinery running like clockwork and oversees the Workshop, including health and safety matters.

Helen Driver

Gardening Supervisor

Helen’s warm personality makes people feel instantly at ease, which is perfect for working with our Members. As our new Gardening Supervisor, she will be overseeing the grass cutting activities. assisting with wood collections and generally helping the rest of the Team where needed.

Elaine Shepherd

Community Outreach Worker

Nothing is too much trouble for Elaine who helps some of our Members with tasks outside of their work with Chopsticks. Whether it be shopping for new clothes or simply paying a bill, Elaine is there to help make sure those Members who need that little bit of extra help receive it with a smile.

Ron Callahan

Service Support Assistant

Ron moved to the UK from America in 2004 and since then has attained a wealth of experience in social health care and working with vulnerable adults. His personality and sense of fun make him a popular staff member as he turns his hand to whatever is needed at any given time.

Laura Taylor

Senior Service Support Assistant

Laura started out lending a helping hand in the Workshop when any of our full-time staff members took holiday or to cover an increased workload. However, she obviously enjoyed it so much she decided to join the Team as a full member of staff. Her social media skills and work ethic make her a great asset and she is much loved by staff and Members alike.

Evan Richards

Business Administration Support Assistant

Evan joined Chopsticks under the Government Kickstart Scheme to work in the office and assist with the paperwork side of things. With a distinction in Business Studies at ‘A’ level and a wealth of IT and software skills, his input for the Social Media is definitely something we will be using going forward.

Matthew Dixon

Workshop Team

Matthew has recently joined Chopsticks under the Government Kickstart Scheme and is already proving to be valuable addition to our Workshop Team with his ability to understand and work well with our Members. Matt has a keen interest in computers and gaming, and enjoys upcycling and anything to do with Motor Cross and Moto GP. Matthew is eager to learn new skills that will set him up for the future and open up opportunities he might not otherwise have had.

Ryan Wilson

Workshop Team

Ryan has recently joined Chopsticks under the Government Kickstart Scheme and is another valuable member of staff with his ability to understand and work well with our Members. Ryan enjoys reading and learning more about history and what has shaped where we are today. Ryan is eager to learn new skills that will set him up for the future and open up opportunities he might not otherwise have had.

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Our Awards

Duke of york's community initiative award

In 2002 Chopsticks was awarded with the Duke of York’s Community Initiative award for its achievements in the community.

In 2005 Chopsticks was granted with the higher award for its recognised development.

HRH the Duke of York’s Community Initiative award recognises excellence in communities in Yorkshire and aims to encourage the development of Community Spirit!

How green are we?

Chopsticks garden

We heat our building with a wood burning biomass boiler fuelled by our own waste wood and we are proud that our service is environmentally friendly.

All the kindling we sell is also ‘carbon neutral’ meaning that no extra carbon dioxide is released as a result of burning it.

The timber that we use is all waste timber which would otherwise been sent to landfill.

With all this in mind Chopsticks are proud to be doing their bit for the environment helping reduce the carbon footprint and landfill mountain.

Our Ambassadors

We are proud to have Lord William Hague and Baroness Masham as the patrons of our Charity. Additionally, we also appreciate the never ending support from our ambassadors Charlie Turner at Sam Turner’s and Liam Spencer at Northallerton Glass.

If you would like to become an ambassador for our charity then please contact us on info@chopsticks.org.uk or ring our office on 01609 761661.