An Aire Valley aid charity is about to celebrate quarter a century of improving lives in 30 countries across the globe.

Jubilee Outreach Yorkshire (JOY) Director Dr Kathy Tedd said the charity was unlike many others in that it still had no paid employees and was run entirely by volunteers.

Dr Tedd, 68, whose roles in addition to being director include secretary, warehouse operator, collector and charity shop worker, said: "It's a miracle what we've achieved."

It runs on about £100,000 a year reliant on donations from well-wishers, help from businesses and money made at its two charity shops in Shipley and Bingley.

As a celebration and thank you to everyone who has supported it so far, the charity is having an event on June 13 between 2pm and 5pm at St Peter's Church Hall, Moorhead Lane, Shipley.

In the past 25 years, JOY has helped renovate 16 orphanages, done up a couple of residential homes for the elderly and supplied hospitals in Romania.

It has set up children's camps to rescue them from the streets and poverty, as well as sending out aid to 30 other countries via agencies and workers it knows and trusts, said Dr Tedd.

It has also responded to a number of disasters, including floods and tsunamis, although the main thrust of its work is in Romania where self-sufficiency workshops it set up are now supporting 100 young people in jobs.

It also runs a Rheum-Care service which started out in three rooms in one flat helping people with physical disabilities get rehabilitation care. That project has grown and now sees about 200 patients every day.

The charity also supports a home care service run by a GP and a team of staff who go out and see chronically ill, housebound and dying people who would otherwise be left without any support.

Meanwhile, the Clever Hands project is a day care centre for children with disabilities, while a shelter called St Peter's House is home to those who are older and whose parents have died.

The other current project is the Elizabeth Foundation, which runs five homes and a small farm for abandoned children set up by a Franciscan Friar in the little village of Glodeni in the countryside north of Targu Mures.

"We only go out once a year now with several lorries of aid. We go to check on our projects and make sure we are still doing everything right and bringing what they need. We are one of the last proper charities. We are all volunteers.

"Our volunteers are all stars. We are still getting in the same amount of money to keep us working. we are thankful for that."

To find out more about JOY and how to give support, go to joyworld.org.uk