The face coverings made by one of our refugee partners have proved very popular. We only have 11 adult face coverings left in the patterns pictured below. We also still have face coverings for children. 

We suggest a donation of £5 for adult face coverings and £3 for children's, but please give what you like.
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1. First e-mail your order and postal address to woodcraftvicky@gmail.com 
2.  Next, transfer your donation directly to Herts Welcomes Refugees
Sort code 20 03 18
Account number 43149080

Please label your donation ‘masks'

Adult Face Coverings

Children's Face Coverings

We are so honoured to be recognised as a Hero of Hertfordshire. 

On 23 June, forty members gathered on Zoom for our fourth Annual General Meeting. 

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Our patron, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire Robert Voss CBE, began by expressing his gratitude to the UK for taking in his parents when they were refugees. He stated that Hertfordshire’s diversity is its strength, noting the enormous amount of culture that refugees bring into this country. Voss, praising our charity’s continuing efforts throughout the Covid-19 crisis, stated: “The work, effort and engagement of Herts Welcomes Refugees is absolutely vital. Never more than at this time.” 


Herts Welcomes Refugees’ chair, Irene Austin, thanked the volunteers for their continuing work and support, stating that they are the core of our organisation. “This epidemic when it hit came as such a shock,” she said, “but we considered how to keep engaging and responding to [refugee] needs.” Throughout the lockdown volunteers have been working with the families using Zoom, WhatsApp, e-mail, and old fashioned letters. Irene also added that HWR has become more involved in helping children, organising support for young people with their schoolwork.


Treasurer Mick Hayter announced that we have used the money raised from our Laptop Appeal to provide thirty-six Chromebooks to families with schoolchildren. An Ocado Foundation grant has been used as a hardship fund for families affected by Covid-19 and will be used for other emerging needs.  


Looking to the future, Herts Welcomes Refugees will be starting an IT project to help families to become more confident with different technologies. One member asked about the psychological impact of Covid-19 on families, and Irene explained that families would hopefully soon have access to therapists through a new project working across the East of England. She noted that, crucially, ongoing contact between our volunteer befrienders and the families has helped to reduce some of the strain of worrying.

Since November 2019, when Chris Rigby joined HWR to run our bike scheme, he’s delivered sixteen bikes to refugees and asylum seekers across Hertfordshire. Chris does everything from pumping and repairing tires to making sure that the recipients know how to change gears. At times, he’s struggled with garage space, keeping up to twenty bikes at once.
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Chris, who is a cycling enthusiast and also volunteers with Sustrans, collects the bikes donated by our supporters and makes sure that they’re road-worthy before delivering them to refugees who need them. These bikes can be crucial, particularly for young people who live in isolated locations. Chris described a group of unaccompanied minors living in a remote youth hostel who are now able to ride to the shops or go out on excursions. “They can now all go out together,” Chris said. “Everybody’s been very grateful and welcoming.”  


Chris is keen to teach interested refugees some basic bike skills, from fixing a tire to repairing brakes. He will attend a bike repair training session at the end of this month and plans to use his new knowledge to improve the donated bikes as well as to teach others new skills.  

We're currently in need of men's bikes, so if you have one to donate please do get in touch chris.s.rigby@outlook.com