Request for donations of high-quality second-hand clothes and toys HWSF are planning an August sale of goods and social event for the Syrian families in Hertfordshire. We are looking for donations of high quality clothes, toys and soft furnishings. Here are the specific items we need:
Goods can be taken to STAR premises in St Albans as we will be working closely with them for this event. You can contact Liz Needham on 07775 962761 but please mark goods for HSWF. You can also arrange delivery of goods by emailing: volunteering@stalbansforrefugees.org If you are not in St Albans and this makes things difficult, then please email Irene (icaustin@aol.com) and Catherine (cat_hen@hotmail.co.uk) to make arrangements. Could you get all donations to us by Friday 11th August, please? Thank you so much for your continued support! First of all, thank you SO MUCH for the amazing response to our drive to raise funds for TVs. You have been so generous that we have now organised TVs and licences for every family in Herts with cash to spare. Surplus funds have been allocated to support families with other important items, like disability living equipment and cooking utensils, but more families are arriving, so we'll need to keep fundraising for this purpose.
Feedback from local area meetings that took place lately has been that a) people are hungry to get more involved and b) the long newsletters can be a bit overwhelming to read! The committee all need help in running our network and supporting the Refugee Council, so this newsletter is going to be a 'menu' of really useful things we'd love people to do. Please feel free to skip the roles that don't interest you and focus on any that catch your eye! Please email katharine.s.seaton@gmail.com if anything looks like it has your name on it, and we'll have a look at what we've got and get back to you. Best wishes, from Katie and HWSF Committee Important Unfilled Roles Fundraising All fundraising is extremely welcome, be it a one-off event or an ongoing commitment or anything in between! More families will be arriving, so, for example, more TVs, school uniforms and cooking equipment will be needed. A reminder that donations go to our treasurer, Mick Hayter, email: michael.htr@gmail.com Local area assistants We could really use a person or two more in each area to run local meetings and disseminate information relevant to that district from local authorities and our Refugee Council workers. Local area coordinator - Watford Being HWSF's focal point for volunteers in this area. Providing free access to your wifi The families need internet, particularly for school homework, job hunting and writing home. We are researching laptops to purchase for each family and the idea is that we create a map for each district of public hotspots which our families are explicitly invited to use. If your cafe, club, place of worship or other space (not your private home) can welcome our families for free, please let us know. Goods storage and transport coordinator As you know, we are filling the gaps left by the government's pretty basic provision for refugee families. This involves moving goods to somewhere sensible for collection by the Refugee Council workers and currently is being managed in an ad hoc manner by committee members. It needs a focal person for people to contact, preferably via email. Local collectors and drivers We need you to provide places for temporary drop-off points in all local areas. We already have a list of kind driving volunteers, but the more the merrier! Jumble Sale Families need decent clothes and one way we'd like to help with this is by holding a big jumble sale this August in a central location for our families, with an added picnic/summer games social. More in the next newsletter about the event itself, but we'll need donations of high-quality clothing and some help (see below) Jumble Sale clothes collectors ...we will also really need people from each area to collect and sort donations. Jumble Sale Support We will need help with running this event. Things we need Storage space Venues for meetings, welcome meals and social events High-quality formal and casual clothing, for both adults and children, ahead of the planned jumble sale. Household and other items for families, as and when requested via the Refugee Council workers. We will advise as and when items are requested. |
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