Dear friends, family and everyone else willing to get involved,

On Wednesday the 11th of November I fly to a little island in Greece, Leros, for two weeks to help out in the refugee crisis. There I'll be joining a big group of volunteers who have already been working around the clock to help the enormous amount of refugees coming in every day. 

Since this is a very spontaneous plan I don't have the time to get a good crowdfunding campaign started before I go. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try.

People  have arrived with litterally nothing but the clothes on their back and just went through the most horrible journey, trying to flee a country of war. Winter is coming soon and there is an enourmous need for food, clothes, medicine, tents, but also things to cheer them up. Toys, books, crayons, sweets..

Everyone I've spoken to so far has said they really want to help but have no idea how. Well, I think this might be a good way.  

It's important to know that my trip is completely self-funded, so every euro donated goes directly to the refugees in Leros. It's also really important to buy relief goods locally to help te Greek people and support the local economy. 

I may not have the biggest network myself, but with your help it can be enormous! And I know I have some pretty cool & influentuel friends, who have even more cool & influential friends, so this is your time to shine!

Important: if you dont have a credit card, you can donate the money to my personal bankaccount (you have to trust me on that one) and I will put the money in the account on your name.

M Veltman
NL59 ABNA 0559 2626 98

As soon as I get there I will keep all of you updated on my work and purchases and inform you if there are things that are urgently needed. 

If you are curious of the work people are doing right now in Greece and Leros, check out the Facebook groups in which they share their stories.
Aid Leros Facebook page
volunteer coordination Lesvos

It might inspire you to join them, just as it inspired me. 
If you have questions, words of advise or you want to join me, don't hesitate to call, e-mail or message me!

Thanks a million,
Marijn Veltman 
[email redacted]
0031681449977 
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You can also help by donating goods yourself or by approaching the bigger companies and see if they can donate any of the things urgently needed.  So far I have already managed to put a list together with the information of  volunteers currently in Greece. I will update this while there. 
 
When you want to ship clothes it would really help if packs are ready assembled, in clearly labelled bags.(E.g. shoes, socks, trousers, underwear t-shirt and a jumper in bags that clearly states boy ages 8, girl aged 3 etc). When people get off the boats they are freezing and at the moment the volunteers are having to riffle through unsorted items which looses precious time.
- Colouring books and pens are VERY well received by the children
-shoes (especially men's)
-socks (wool since that stays warm, even when wet!)
-baby carriers,
- They are desperate for clothes for teenagers aged 8 - 14 years
- Sweat pants are preferred over jeans. If you have jeans, consider ladies won't wear skinny jeans.
- Mens trousers are most required in size 28-34 inch waste. Large sizes aren't needed.
- What is REALLY required is another van. One more van would make a massive difference to the aid efforts. If you think you can help with this, please email me for more details. Money could fund this 
-Women's warm sweaters
-Men's winter jackets
-Women's long sleeved (not warm)
-Scarves for women
-Men's winter gloves
-Underwear children boys 2-6 years
-Underwear children girls 6-12
-Sleeping bags, portable ones in small bags favourite. Others try and roll up as small as possible and secure with string - so that it can be held together and also easily picked up.
-Bags 
-Tents. Hard to tell if any good - but not if suspect mouldy or broken.
-Tarpaulins and ground sheets - clean and folded/rolled as much as possible, secured with string. Label with approximate size.
-games, puzzles, or anything for that matter that wil put a smile on a kid's face.