On the final day of the last school year, I held a bake sale to raise funds to support the Refugee Support Group in Reading and UNICEF’s Sudan Appeal. The event was a great success, raising a total of £286 despite being run by only six students at the end of term, when Year 11 and Year 13 were already on holiday after their exams and many other students were on trips, resulting in a much smaller market than usual.
Our efforts were certainly worth it due to the importance of the causes. Refugee Support Group Reading has been combating isolation and loneliness in order to improve the integration of refugees into the local Reading community over time, including running a refugee homework club at local schools. The Refugee Support Group’s committed staff actively support families and individuals from Sudan, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria, just to name a few places, yet need donations to continue their invaluable work to help refugees rebuild their lives.
The UNICEF Sudan Appeal, by contrast, is currently providing humanitarian assistance to internally displaced people in Sudan, as well as to Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries, which themselves are unstable and unable to support these vulnerable people. 25.6 million individuals were in crisis levels of hunger due to the violent conflict in Sudan, as of May 2024 – that is more than half the population of England. UNICEF urgently needs $240 million to prevent famine in the coming months and to continue to deliver life-saving healthcare – our donation of £143 to the appeal could pay for 600 sachets of life-saving therapeutic food (think vitamin-enriched peanut butter). A tiny but important contribution to a humanitarian emergency.
Thank you to all students and staff who supported our bake sale. If you would like to do more to help these worthwhile causes, please consider donating via the links below. Check out the Refugee Support Group’s website for more ideas as to how you can contribute, including sponsoring an upcoming 10km walk, which will raise funds to pay for legal support for refugees.
Refugee Support Group Reading 10km fundraiser walk:https://refugeesupportgroup.org.uk/reading-refugees-legal-walk-2024/
Refugee Support Group Reading donate: https://refugeesupportgroup.org.uk/donate/
UNICEF Sudan Appeal donate: https://www.unicef.org/appeals/sudan
