Charity and arts project team up to encourage hope and unity during the difficult Covid-19 festive period
East Durham Trust have teamed up with its arts engagement project East Durham Creates to start planning an exciting programme of activities during what is likely to be the most challenging festive period that many local people have ever faced.
Working together on the themes of Hope and Unity they will deliver a programme of arts installations and art and food packs alongside their classic crisis interventions including hot meals, food parcels, holiday activities and ongoing debt and welfare advice services.
Activities for the season include:
“Winter Walls” – an East Durham Creates arts animation project. Building on work completed during lockdown with Dawdon YCC, animator Sheryl Jenkins will facilitate animation workshops with community centres to create a unique film on the theme of ‘Hope’.
“Windows of Hope” – Community House will be used as a largescale light box to host a unique display of illuminated art works using the windows of the building. Working with an artist to create activity packs for targeted families to create their own ‘Window of Hope’ and also provide instructions online encouraging all families to decorate their own window.
“Gifts of Hope” – To connect with vulnerable and isolated adults, including those we are providing services to such as shopping and Chit-Chat calls, we will create boxes of gift items. These will be hand delivered to people’s homes bringing social connections on the doorstep
“Festive People’s Takeaway” – We will serve a Christmas Dinner and use the delivery of this food to distribute Activity Packs and Christmas treats.
The Trust is asking for local people to support the Festive period with donations of Christmas items as soon as possible, to allow them to be distributed ahead of Christmas – this includes a call out for crackers, selection boxes and festive treats as well as general food donations to support its crisis services.
You can donate these items directly to Community House on Yoden Road in Peterlee or at donation points across East Durham including Asda Peterlee and Sainsbury’s in Peterlee and Seaham. You can find a list of donation points by visiting bit.ly/3dyueWs
If you are an individual living in East Durham in need of support please contact the Trust on 0191 5693511
