COUNCIL staff and members have donated thousands of festive treats to foodbanks across County Durham to help people in need this Christmas.
For the third year running, employees and councillors from Durham County Council donated throughout November to the appeal which asks them to buy an extra item with their regular grocery shop. Donations were then dropped into all the council’s main buildings and used by the foodbanks to create special Christmas hampers for local people in crisis. Read the full article here East Durham Trust is appealing to the public to help with food donations over the festive period.
The charity, which supports people living in former mining communities, launched the FEED project (Food Emergency East Durham) back in 2011 and has seen the need for the service grow each Christmas. Last year, following the rollout of Universal Credit across the area, East Durham Trust was inundated with requests to its crisis intervention projects from individuals and families facing the Christmas period without food, gas or electricity. The festive period saw East Durham Trust distribute more than 700 food parcels - which was over four times the amount during the same period in 2017 and more than half of these parcels went to families with children. With this figure expected to rise again this year and the food parcel service relying heavily on donations, East Durham Trust is asking local people and organisations to think about supporting the FEED project this December. Chief Executive Malcolm Fallow said: "If anything we expect the need to grow again this Christmas so we are doing everything we can to meet that rising demand - but we need the support of local people and organisations more than ever at this time of year. It is testimony to the community spirit that still exist in East Durham that people continue to donate food to help those less fortunate than themselves." He added: "The FEED project accepts any dried, tinned or preserved foods. We particularly need tinned meat, fish and vegetables. All in date stock is greatly appreciated." Donations can be made directly to East Durham Trust based in Yoden Road, Peterlee or a full list of donation points across the area can be found here EAST Durham people enjoyed a tasty treat, thanks to members from the Gurwara Sikh Temple... The Peterlee based charity, East Durham Trust, was approached by Doctor Kamal Sidhu, who is an active member of the Gurwara Sikh Temple in Middlesbrough who explained that it would like to donate an array of food during the celebrations of 550 years of Guru Nanak, the religions first Guru and Founder. Dr Sidhu approached East Durham Trust because he is familiar with the work it does and often refers his patients into various services and activities which it offers. The Trust is a registered charity with an expressed purpose to promote the regeneration of rural and urban areas of the effects of social and economic decline. It is also a flagship for voluntary and community sector organisations in the area. As well as providing the traditional support to community groups, it is host to the area's Nationally Accredited Volunteer Centre. A group from the temple visited the trust and, along with donations of food, served more than 30 members of staff, volunteers and people who receive the Trust's services, a freshly cooked vegetable curry meal. Malcolm Fallow, Chief Executive of East Durham Trust, said: "This was a fantastic gesture and we were delighted to welcome our friends from the Sikh community - anything we can do to support a better understanding of different cultures is a positive step in a society that is often presented as divided." Families in three East Durham villages given additional support with housing association funding16/7/2019
A new project designed to support families in three east Durham villages has received £15,000 of funding from a leading housing association.
Families in Shotton Colliery, Wingate and Wheatley Hill are set to benefit from a host of free activities and food as part of a six-month programme thanks to funding from believe housing. The Villages Family Project, run by East Durham Trust, will bring weekly sessions such as cinema evenings, cookery sessions and homework clubs to the three former mining communities. The programme is intended to provide opportunities for families in Shotton Colliery, Wingate and Wheatley Hill to come together to take part in fun activities in each village. A total of 75 sessions, will be delivered across the three villages by the project, which will run until December 2019. It is expected that more than 300 local people will directly benefit from the project. The funding from believe housing is part of the housing association’s community investment programme. Shotton Colliery, Wingate and Wheatley Hill have all been identified as priority areas by the organisation. Read the full article HERE. Businesses are being urged to give their support to a local foodbank as the six weeks holidays approach.The East Durham FEED project has previously reported a sharp rise in demand for its services and is urging businesses to give their support over the summer shutdown, when pupils and students will be off school for six weeks.
The food donation service is currently distributing over 100 food parcels every week to local residents in financial distress. Many of the recipients have been adversely affected by welfare reform and the roll of Universal Credit. Since the beginning of 2019, 2130 food parcels have been distributed with 2095 people receiving support, an increase of around 64 per cent since the same period last year. Read the full article HERE. Businesses are being urged to give their support to a local foodbank which has seen a sharp rise in the number of people requiring support.
The East Durham FEED project is now regularly distributing over 100 food parcels every week to local residents in financial distress. Many of the recipients have been adversely affected by welfare reform and the roll of Universal Credit. Since the beginning of 2019, 2130 food parcels have been distributed with 2095 people receiving support, an increase of around 64 per cent since the same period last year. Read the full article HERE. EAST Durham Trust is highlighting the impact and invaluable contribution that volunteers make to the local community during this Volunteer Week.
The Peterlee-based trust provides a wide range of volunteer led services within the community, including an emergency food parcel service, hot meal deliveries, debt and benefit advice, support for private tenants, telephone befriending, support for people living with cancer, activities during the school holidays, transport to work, job clubs, a one stop support and advice centre plus much more. The services are primarily ran by a team of volunteers who give their time on a regular basis to help their local community. Around 100 volunteers support the delivery of these essential projects that have become an integrated part of the support system for the local community. During National Volunteers Week the Trust will be highlighting the invaluable work that volunteers do and recognising the contribution which volunteering makes to the wider community as a whole. Read the full article HERE. Bus shelters in a former pit village were transformed overnight as part of a pop-up art show.
Art installations appeared in shelters in Sunderland Road, Horden, on Tuesday, as part of the If These Walls Could Talk project, which was aimed at capturing the magic of everyday life. Malcolm Fallow, chief executive of East Durham Trust, which manages East Durham Creates, said: "This was an amazing experience for our community, as well as giving local people a unique opportunity to experience high quality art this is a great way of putting Horden on the map for all the right reasons". Read the full article here. Villagers woke up to a very unique art project which had everyone talking.
The bus stops along Horden's Sunderland Road were transformed into works of art - for one day only. Villagers and motorists in East Durham were stunned to see the shelters turned into a range of things, including a kitchen, living room and even a social club. The one-day pop-up art exhibition - If These Walls Could Talk - was a culmination of a year of work involving artists, Sally Southern and Nicola Lynch, who had been working with residents on community art projects. The pair had worked with villagers, mostly aged 55 and over, to create the pieces, which proved to be a massive talking point. And, it wasn't just the bus shelters, the whole of Sunderland Road was brought to life for the day of art, including art activities, singing, impromptu performances, bingo and free refreshments. Read the full article here. A former colliery village is to be taken over by secret arts project inspired by everyday life and local older people.
On Tuesday, Sunderland Road in Horden will be transformed in the middle of the night by a pop up arts event for one day only. Residents will wake to find the street filled with a series of unique art installations. Since September, artists Sally Southern and Nicola Lynch have been working across East Durham primarily with people aged 55-plus to capture the magic of everyday life. The project, titled “If These Walls Could Talk” is part of the East Durham Creates initiative, which is funded by Arts Council England as part of their Creative People and Places programme. Read the full article here. Young people came together to celebrate a project which put an end to the idea that "Nowt Happens" in East Durham.
Young people from across the area took part in a showcase event at Dawdon Youth & Community Centre, Seaham, in front of family and friends, to celebrate their achievements in organising five major arts events across the area. The showcase event was part of East Durham Trust's 'No More Nowt Happens' project which is funded by County Durham Community Foundation. The project brings groups of young people together to plan and stage arts events with professional performers and artists in local non-traditional venues, putting an end to the idea that 'Nowt Happens'. Performers including Barry Hyde, of the Futureheads, and Door-to-Door Poet Rowan McCabe joined the young people in a multimedia celebration that featured performances, works of art, music and more. The project also included a major photography exhibition, a music gig, a spoken word night, a comedy night and a digital art exhibition. All events were organised and run by young people in their own communities. the events engaged an audience of more than 550 people with almost 100 young people becoming involved. Prior to organising the event, many of the young people had never attended concerts or exhibitions but were encouraged to go and see such events to inspire them ahead of the planning stage. Many of the young people also formed friendships as well as developing their social networks, learning new skills and growing in confidence. Malcolm Fallow, Chief Executive of East Durham Trust, said: "This project has been a revelation in that young people have really helped to put their respective communities on the cultural map". An East Durham running club has raised more than £400 to help battle poverty in the area.
Run Peterlee spent the latter half of last year fundraising for East Durham Trust with members deploying a number of techniques to raise the funds, ranging from a monthly bonus ball to end of year raffle. In addition to the cash donation, the group also donated a vast amount of non-perishable food items to the Trust's emergency food parcel project FEED. These items were collected at Run Peterlee's 5K trail event held last summer. Malcolm Fallow, CEO at East Durham Trust, said: "It is fantastic to see a local community group coming together to support a charity on their doorstep. Many of the Trust's projects and interventions rely very much on the good will and kind gestures of volunteers and the wider community. Without such support, it would not be possible to continue to deliver the work we do. This generous donation will be put to very good use in helping those who are less fortunate within our community." He added: "It is particularly significant that it is a group of runners who put the charity at the heart of their fundraising efforts. As well as supporting the community with various poverty related interventions such as a Food Bank, benefit and debt advice, the Trust also manages 'Run East Durham', an initiative to help encourage local residents to take up physical activity. It is through this project that the group originally established their link and the relationship has developed from here." An East Durham charity, which distributes hot food and emergency parcels to those in financial hardship, has received a £10,000 cash boost to increase its services to those in need.
The Big Lottery's Award for All grant will be used to improve the kitchen facilities of East Durham Trust's People's Takeaway - a volunteer-led service, which prepares and distributes meals to people facing financial difficulties. The extra funding will see more meals delivered and a wider variety of food on offer. It will also support the provision of family arts and crafts activities at the charity's building Community House, which also includes a free meal for those that come along. The Trust already distributes around 100 food parcels every week and around 30 hot food deliveries to those who are struggling financially. Chief executive Malcolm Fallow said: "The impact of welfare reform and austerity has been catastrophic for many people in the local area with many struggling to feed themselves or their family on a regular basis. With such lack of cash, families also struggle to find social activities to enjoy as a family. This grant from the Lottery will allow the Trust to help many local people in such situations, providing a meal and activity for free." He added: "Such support wouldn't be available without those who play the National Lottery and so we would like to say a special thanks for their support too." The new programme of family activity will start in April, with various sessions taking place in the Easter holidays too. Comedy star Ricky Tomlinson officially opened up the new extension at an East Durham foodbank and challenged MPs to swap places with those on Universal Credit.
The actor - best known for his roles as Jim in 'The Royle Family' and 'Mike Bassett - England Manager' - visited Peterlee's East Durham Trust as demand for food parcels in the area have increased due to the new controversial benefit system. The increase has meant the Trust has had to open a new room to keep up with the demands. Staff and volunteers now help well over 100 individuals and families every week, which is why it has called the new facility 'The Universal Credit Room'. Speaking about foodbanks and officially opening the new room, Ricky said: "I'm sat in the middle of a room stocked with food that is going to be used by people who can't afford food or don't have anything to eat. It makes me feel very, very proud to be here and be part of this but it also makes me very, very angry because in 2019, in one of the richest countries on the planet, this shouldn't be happening." Ricky said he felt strongly about people in the UK struggling to eat and live and believes there needs to be change in the system. He added: "Let's have an experiment where we get a group of MPs and put them in a council house and give them the exact benefits that the people they are replacing live on." Malcolm Fallow, CEO of East Durham Trust, said: "Universal Credit is a devastating part of the welfare's economy and the issue around it is the amount of time people have to wait before they get any money." Mining a rich seam of poetry - youngsters help organise poetry event at former miners welfare hall5/3/2019
Youngsters organised a major poetry event in the unlikely setting of a former Miners Welfare Hall.
Almost 100 people attended the event at Blackhall Community Centre, one of the first of it’s kind in this area. The event was part of East Durham Trust’s 'No More Nowt Happens' project, which is funded by County Durham Community Foundation and supported by East Durham Creates, a project funded by Arts Council England. Read more here. It was no laughing matter for television funnyman Ricky Tomlinson when he opened a foodbank extension needed to cope with spiralling demand for the service.
Mr Tomlinson, well known as Jim Royle from sitcom The Royal Family and roles in Brookside, Cracker and Mike Bassett: England Manager, unveiled the new storage facility created by East Durham Trust, in Peterlee. For the full story (including video clip) click here. A GROUP of young people organised a major poetry event in the unlikely setting of a former miners’ welfare hall.
Almost 100 people attended the reading in Blackhall Community Centre, in east Durham. The event was part of East Durham Trust’s 'No More Nowt Happens' project, funded by County Durham Community Foundation supported by East Durham Creates, a project funded by Arts Council England. For the full story click here. A TV star has challenged MPs to give up their salaries in exchange for Universal Credit and a council house as he cut the ribbon to a foodbank extension.
Ricky Tomlinson was at East Durham Trust's Food Emergency East Durham (FEED) in Peterlee to officially open their storage room where donated food will be kept to be turned into emergency parcels for struggling families and individuals. Read the full article (and watch video clip) here. |
LocationEast Durham Trust
Community House Yoden Road Peterlee SR8 5DP T: 0191 5693511 Charity No: 1117642 Company No: 05934124 |
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