This Christmas, community stars from the North East are recognised for their selfless acts of kindness through a 12 deeds of Christmas initiative.

An annual campaign by northern housing association Karbon Homes, celebrates the stars in North East 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 Letty Davison who runs the Eggcrackers group in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.

The group was created to form a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community and anyone with Neurodivergence or additionally abled.

The Northern Echo: Letty receiving her 12 deeds of Christmas recognition

Eggcrackers, named after their mission statement “to bring everyone out of their shell”, meet weekly at REfUSE café in Chester-le-Street to offer peer-to-peer support and plan events for their members.

On winning the Community Star, Letty said: “I was so shocked to have been named one of Karbon’s 12 community stars. I felt honoured to just be nominated but to win just feels amazing. I am very grateful.”

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 Community Star winners included:

Rose Peat who, after suffering the tragic loss of her daughter to cancer, has started volunteering for cancer patient care charity Daft as a Brush and supports cancer patients with transport to their appointments.

Embells Community Support Project in Gateshead, also 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.

Katherine Millar, one of the founding members of Tanga Club, a charity in Hexham that supports children with additional needs and their families with a weekly youth club, parent/carer retreat days and an annual trip to Centre Parcs.

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Philip Pollard, Assistant Director of Customer & Community Engagement at Karbon Homes, said: “We’ve been running the 12 deeds of Christmas for several years now and it’s always heart-warming to see the wonderful, selfless acts of kindness that people and groups in our communities do for one another.

“We work with our customers to shape strong, sustainable places for our communities. The 12 deeds initiative is a fantastic way to celebrate community spirit and for people to thank those who have helped to make a positive difference.”

To find out more about Karbon Homes 12 deeds of Christmas, visit www.karbonhomes.co.uk/good-deeds.