Refugease And Refugees Week

 

Last month we had the privilege of welcoming in Vintage Emporium to the Upper Mall of The Chimes. Not only is the store full of amazing vintage finds for your home and wardrobe, the proceeds also go towards aiding the charity Refugease. In honour of their arrival and the upcoming Refugees Week, 19th-25th June, we wanted to share their story with you and how you can help.

Who they are

On 2nd September 2015, a three-year-old Syrian boy named Alan Kurdi tragically drowned as his family were trying to reach Europe. Upon seeing his photo, Refugease Founder, Valentina, set up a simple Facebook event in an urgent attempt to gather aid to be sent to Europe. The event went viral, attracting thousands of donations from their needs list. In just two days, they collected four double-decker buses of aid which they then drove to Croatia and distributed to those in dire need. Since then, they’ve made it their mission to help our warn-torn brothers and sisters as best we can. As well as conducting regular aid trips to Europe and further afield, their focus has developed into finding long-term solutions. They assist in providing formal education for refugee children in Jordan, up-skill adult refugees into employment and raise awareness of the refugee crisis here in the U.K.

How to help

This Refugees Week, you can help in a couple of ways. One of the most effective ways to help is using their digital aid shop to help refugees overseas. Covid and Brexit both had impacts on transporting donations overseas, so now, Refugease have made it easier to help. With their digital aid shop you can purchase much needed aid for war-torn countries which will then be distributed among the refugees there.

You can also help by donating to their store or making a purchase! They’re always looking for new donations of furniture and clothing, so why not drop off some of your unwanted things and help make a difference? Plus, they have a free collection service if you are donating larger items. Pop in store to find out more and book a slot.