Jill Hiatt, 86, started her project in 12 years ago, when her daughter Julie asked her to craft some cards for her.
Julie insisted on paying for them, so Jill decided to donate the £6 to her local chapel in Kirkbymoorside, which was raising funds for WaterAid.
Since then, Jill has made thousands of birthday and Christmas cards for charity and is known as “the WaterAid lady” in nearby villages.
Jill said: “In 2003 I began making hand-crafted birthday cards which soon increased to cards for almost every occasion. I still charge £1 for each one, Christmas cards are a bit cheaper.
“I sell them for a pound, it’s never gone up,” Jill said.
“Also people have been good, donating extra money or just sending me donations.
“I really don’t know how many cards I’ve made, I’ve never counted.”
Jill makes cards for every occasion and begins making Christmas cards in January
She has held coffee mornings at her home to sell the cards, as well as taking them to churches and craft fairs.
During the pandemic, people would ask Jill to put cards on the doorstep and they would post money through the door.
The community in Kirkbymoorside and Appleton-le-Moors also helps by donating old cards for Jill to reuse and craft into something new.
Jill said: “Last week I reached my latest target of £30,000 I can hardly believe it when I started I had £6. It’s all thanks to my wonderful supporters who keep coming back for more cards and to those who donate regularly, I couldn’t have done it without you all.
Now people are asking what my next target will be? I think I’ll make it £31,000 by Christmas 2025. Maybe not that soon, but we’ll see .”
“A very big thank you to you all.”
To support JIll go to
Water Aid is an international not-for-profit organisation, determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere. The charity says there are still 703 million people living without clean water close to home.Almost two billion people – one in four – can’t wash their hands with soap at home and ore than 1,000 children under five die every day due to diseases caused by unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene.
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