News Beat
Believe Housing helps Durham communities this Christmas
We Made It From Scratch Productions, a new amateur dramatics group based in Wheatley Hill, has partnered with STARS Community Learning CIC to host a festive cabaret dinner featuring a Christmas meal and a panto-style performance.
The event is part of the group’s first-ever show, Miss Midler’s Showcase: A Christmas Celebration and The Story of Chrissy Scrooge, which will be performed over six dates at venues in Wingate, Wheatley Hill, and Peterlee.
The drama group was launched in July with the support of a £1,000 community grant from believe housing.
The grant helped the group purchase essential equipment to get started.
Anne-Marie Parkin, community investment team leader at believe housing, said: “It’s fantastic to see two groups we’ve supported working together to create something their community really needs.
“The theatre group is giving people in east Durham a creative outlet where they can grow in confidence, have fun, and make friends, while STARS is empowering young people to make a positive difference.
“By joining forces, they’re tackling isolation and cost pressures at Christmas while celebrating local talent and community spirit.
“This is exactly what our funding is about: improving lives and building stronger communities through collaboration.”
The drama group currently has more than 20 members, aged eight to 78.
Staging a full pantomime so soon was considered too ambitious, so the partnership with STARS Community Learning CIC offered a more achievable way to deliver a meaningful Christmas event.
STARS, which is also supported by a believe housing grant, had been planning its own project to bring together people who may feel lonely or face financial pressures at Christmas by offering a festive meal.
Together, they created a cabaret dinner combining food and entertainment.
Through fundraising activities, including singalongs and craft stalls, and a £1,000 donation from the Freemasons, STARS members have raised enough to cover the food and subsidise about half the tickets.
This has allowed more families to take part in the celebrations, many of whom might not otherwise have been able to attend.
In addition to delighting audiences, the collaboration is supporting three community venues.
