Gateshead community centre awarded festive funding boost from housing association

This Christmas, community stars from up and down the North East are being recognised for their selfless acts of kindness through the 12 deeds of Christmas initiative from a local housing association.

The annual campaign by Karbon Homes celebrates the stars in its communities by formally recognising both the good neighbours and community heroes who have gone the extra mile to help others and deserve a big thank you.

One of this year’s community heroes is Embells Community Support Project in Gateshead, which received 15 nominations from people in the community for the support it provides with food parcels, clothing packs and community courses to help people gain new skills and make new friends.

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On winning the Community Star, Emma Bell, who runs Embells, said: “The group’s been going for just over a year and was set up after I realised that support services in Gateshead were really limited. It’s been something that’s been very needed in Gateshead and community involvement is very much at the forefront of what we do.

“With the cost of living rising, more and more people are struggling. We’ve seen an increase in people coming to use our services so we’re trying to make sure they’re fully accessible to ensure we can support everyone. It was lovely to hear we’d be chosen as one of Karbon’s 12 community stars this year. It’s nice to be thought of and that people have voted for us."

Through November, Karbon asked people in its communities to nominate individuals or organisations they think deserve a community star. The winners are then selected by a panel of judges and presented with a thank you to the value of £100 in December.

Other funding recipiants include projects in Morpeth, Hexham, Wallsend Jarrow, Stanley and more.