Holderness Hedgehog Hospital Completes Upgrade With Grant

Holderness Hedgehog Hospital, a volunteer-led charity rescuing and rehabilitating hedgehogs across the East Riding, has completed a game-changing upgrade of its facilities thanks to a generous grant from The John Good Group.

Hedgehogs face multiple threats, from road accidents to illness and habitat loss, and are classified as a vulnerable species on the Red List for Britain’s Mammals. Holderness Hedgehog Hospital provides urgent intervention, rehabilitation, and round-the-clock care, giving these small mammals a second chance at life.

Founded in 2016 and registered as a charity in 2018, the hospital operates a dispersed volunteer model, with teams across Keyingham, Beverley, Burton Pidsea, and Skeffling handling emergency calls, collecting injured animals, and hand-rearing newborns. Their community-led approach enables fast response times, sustainable operations, and educational outreach that inspires the next generation of wildlife advocates.

With a dream of upgrading their makeshift facilities, Holderness Hedgehog Hospital applied to The John Good Group’s Grants for Good programme, where each quarter, five organisations are shortlisted to go forward to a company-wide employee vote, with the number of votes determining the size of the grant. Holderness Hedgehog Hospital captured employees’ hearts, winning the vote and securing the maximum £5,000 grant.

The grant represents a significant sum for the charity, and has allowed them to complete the purchase of 42 professional cages, an expansion originally planned to take until the end of 2026. As well as expanding capacity, the cages have revolutionised daily operations, significantly reducing stress for hedgehogs while allowing volunteers to care for more animals safely and much more efficiently.

Following their win, the hospital team visited The John Good Group’s head office to receive their award and deliver a talk to staff about hedgehog-friendly gardens, caring for sick hedgehogs, and demonstrating the new facilities, giving employees a first-hand look at the impact of their support.

Talking at the event, Holderness Hedgehog Hospital Trustee Vicky Pennington told staff:

“This has had a massive impact on us day to day. Cleaning used to take up to two hours, lifting hedgehogs out of old top-opening cages, which was stressful for them and time-consuming for us. Now, with the new front-opening, stackable cages, I can clean eight cages in just 30 minutes."

"Thanks to the grant, we’ve completed our 2025/26 expansion early, kitted out all five volunteers, and transformed how we care for hedgehogs. We cannot thank everyone at the John Good Group enough, it has truly been a game changer.”

Kirsty Clark, Executive Director of the Matthew Good Foundation, which manages the Grants for Good programme, was also at the event. Pictured presenting Holderness Hedgehog Hospital with their award, Kirsty said:

"Holderness Hedgehog Hospital is a wonderful example of what a small, local charity can achieve. Their unique, dispersed volunteer model is highly sustainable, and other hedgehog rescues are now learning from their approach."

"Supporting organisations like this is incredibly valuable. The volunteers give up so much of their own time to do important work for local wildlife, and it’s a brilliant example of a community coming together. Since their grant, employees have directed additional donations to the hospital, demonstrating how the Grants for Good programme helps charities, businesses, and employees build meaningful connections and support in their local area."

For more information about Holderness Hedgehog Hospital or to support their work, please visit here.