Support for Ukrainian refugee family

Dear friends.

I am sorry to tell you that your French holiday accommodation with us is no longer available – for a while, anyway. We have decided to host a Ukrainian refugee family for as long as they need a warm, safe and welcoming place to stay.

Until a family accepts our offer and is ready to travel, I am in Poland buying essential supplies and driving them to drop-off points near the border. I have also been acting as taxi driver for refugees arriving at the border, who need a lift to wherever they have friends/family they have arranged to stay with.

When others learn what we’re up to, many have asked how they can help. We appreciate there are many channels through which it is possible to get involved, and thank you if you are already doing something. We’d like to add one more channel. The costs to host a family, buy and deliver essential items, etc will soon mount up to be quite a challenge to us financially. We are committed to providing shelter and food, and paying the increased utility bills from our own funds, and I’m paying for my own diesel and accommodation while away from home. Many of our neighbours have already donated the extra furniture, bed linen, etc that we needed. However, there’s a list of expenses we expect will accumulate over time, that we’d appreciate some help with.

We can’t anticipate a complete list at this point, but here are a few examples….

• Cost of essential supplies (baby milk/formula, nappies, etc) delivered to border collection points.

• Clothing, shoes and other essential items as the seasons progress, for the family we host, as they’ll have nothing that wouldn’t fit into whatever bag(s) they could carry.

• Toys and activities for the children.

• Outings – to connect with other Ukrainian families in the region and get familiar with the new surroundings.

• Vet bills if the family we host brings pets.

• Driving lessons, if no-one in the family can drive (we live in the countryside).

• Hair cuts

• Language learning resources.

• Spending money for the family members, so they do not feel helpless and completely dependent on us for everything.

If you are willing and able to help us out with a donation, we’d be very grateful. Due to the uncertainty of what we’re taking on, we’re not sure how much money we will need. If we don’t need all funds raised for the family we host, we will assist other Ukrainian refugee families in the area and/or donate the remaining funds to a non-profit organization helping Ukrainian refugees.

Thanks!

Patrick McCarroll