Bringing Communities Together This Halloween
Strong communities don’t just happen. They are built through connection, understanding and shared experiences.
Heartbeat is North Star's initiative to help bring staff, customers and partners together. It helps us get to know our customers better, understand what matters to them, and build stronger links between colleagues and teams.
This week, our North Star staff Heartbeat Groups ran a series of local community events:
Cockerton, Darlington
Our first celebration took place at Cockerton Club with help from Darlington Council and Groundwork NE and Cumbria. Families joined in pumpkin carving, cookie decorating, face painting, and a fun kids’ show.
Middlesbrough
Over on Abingdon Road, our Middlesbrough event was one of our busiest yet, with around 200 to 300 people joining throughout the day. The event was run with Home Group, Accent, Thirteen and featured stalls from Thirteen Employability, Healthwatch, Night Lite CIC, Doorways, ARCH Teesside, Everyone Active, Middlesbrough Council, Middlesbrough Environment City and more.
The day began with a community litter pick. Visitors and families then enjoyed games, crafts, food and fun activities at the International Community Centre. Children loved the ice cream van, face painting, henna, games and crafts, while the advice stalls gave people a chance to get support and information from different local organisations.
Here's what visitors said:
“I was very happy to participate in the party. Your kindness brings together all differences and shows care for all of us.”
“I was so impressed with the atmosphere and how many stalls and volunteers there were. It was wonderful to see different cultures blending together. Every community should see the positive effect this kind of event has on people.”
Tenants who have lived in North Star homes for over 20 years came along to say hello. Many reconnected with staff they had not seen for a long time. Lots of people told us they would love to see more events like this in future.
Barnard Castle
On Wednesday, one group was over at TCR Hub for a spooky walk, disco and Halloween-themed games. North Star staff joined in the fun, showing off their costumes and helping create a friendly, festive atmosphere. The Halloween-inspired lunch was a big hit with the children, and a lovely way to bring everyone together.
The TCR Hub team do amazing work to support local people, and it was great to see so many families enjoying the day.
More Halloween events were run by other brilliant community groups we work with. In Evenwood, families gathered at the Randolph Community Centre for an afternoon supported by Groundwork NE and Cumbria and Evenwood Community Action. In Thornaby, Sprouts ran pop-ups in the park with trick-or-treat walks, refreshments, giveaways and crafts.
These events were more than just a bit of fun. They were a chance to listen, learn and build stronger connections.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped make these events happen. We can’t wait for the next Heartbeat event.
Check out some pictures from the events:
