Karbon Homes launched its 12 deeds of Christmas initiative on 1 November, to celebrate the stars in our communities.

12 deeds of Christmas is a chance to give a big thank you to the individuals or groups who have gone the extra mile to help others. You could nominate stars in two categories including Good Neighbour and Community Hero.

Karbon received 62 nominations in total including one for Silvie Fisch of Byker Mutual Aid. Although she didn’t win, we would like to highlight and recognise Silvie, and everyone else involved in the Byker Mutual Aid group, and what they have contributed to our community.

Here is a copy of her nomination:

Honestly, I have never met anyone else like Silvie. I got to know her through her work coordinating Byker Mutual Aid Group. She has worked tirelessly since the first week of the pandemic to make sure people received deliveries of food and medicine and dog walks. She also coordinated the delivery of cooked meals to Byker sheltered housing residents. Since then, she has quietly submitted funding bids, run summer projects that inclusively fed dozens of children, and coordinated weekly food distributions from Fareshare via the Mutual Aid Group. She has also tenaciously pushed ahead with plans for a permanent base for that group to advance their work and benefit more people in Byker. She is humble, kind, compassionate, supportive, passionate, and committed to Byker. She is embedded in the community and values everyone and their contribution. She is entirely inclusive and non-judgemental, always seeing the best in people. She isn’t about ‘charity’, but instead, ‘solidarity’, recognising the dignity and contribution of everyone. Please celebrate her – she’s amazing!

What an amazing contribution Silvie has given to the Byker community. On behalf of everyone at Byker Community Trust, we’d like to say thank you and well done!