STAR (Student Action for Refugees)
Help us achieve #EqualAccess for refugees
Improve access to university for refugees
Story
Less than 5% of refugees have access to university. Help us change that.
Will you help refugees graduate from the class of 2025?
At STAR we provide the vital support that refugees and people seeking asylum need to begin or continue their studies, so they can rebuild their lives, and achieve their dreams and aspirations.
But we need your support to make more prospective students dreams a reality, and enable them to continue on educational paths that were previously disrupted. Last year we were able to support over 500 refugees on their journey to university. This year, like many small charities, we have been enormously affected by the pandemic. In the run up to the UCAS deadline on 26th January, demand for our work is increasing - but we are facing financial difficulties and are struggling to continue our vital work
What your donation will do
Your donations will enable us to provide necessary support to refugees and achieve #EqualAccess. Anything you can donate will allow us to directly increase our reach and ability to carry out our crucial work.
This money will mean that we can run mentoring sessions to support refugees to apply for and gain scholarships to university. It will mean we can provide phone and email guidance to people who cannot access the information that they need anywhere else. It will help us work with universities to create scholarships, and make their institutions genuinely welcoming places for refugees. It will mean we can continue to push for national policy change by working with government departments.
£20 would pay for travel costs for a refugee to attend a STAR university open day
£40 would pay for a workshop for an Equal Access activist with lived experience of seeking asylum in the UK
£60 would pay for 1 hour of specialist support to help a university set up a new scholarship for refugee and asylum-seeking students
£100 would pay for a place on a 1:1 mentoring programme for a university applicant who is seeking asylum
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, because I started uni in September 2021. I was also fortunate to be awarded an asylum seeker scholarship. This was made possible by you and your organisation for working tirelessly. - Attendee of a STAR mentoring workshop
At a time when many people are being forced to flee their homes in Afghanistan and rebuild their lives here, our work is needed more than ever.
With the UCAS deadline quickly approaching, our work depends on your support. Donate to help us break down barriers today and make sure refugees can graduate in the class of 2025.
Waleed's story
When I arrived in the UK, I was confused about how to start my academic life until I found the STAR website, which was the first key to my higher education. STAR helped me understand how to get into university. Now, I am a student who campaigns for equal access to higher education for people seeking refugee protection in the UK. Waleed, Equal Access Activist and refugee student
Your support will help us to make more dreams a reality for aspiring refugee students like Waleed in the UK.
Our work gets incredible results
STAR brings together students, universities, and partner organisations to improve access to university for refugees in the UK. Our growing group of Equal Access Activists from refugee backgrounds ensure that our work is led by lived experience. Here are just a few of the things that we achieved last year:
- Provided information and advice to 527 current and aspiring refugee students.
- Supported 11 universities to develop scholarships for refugees, and delivered training events for 192 university staff.
- Campaigned for Equal Access to higher education at 12 universities and held student-led open days for nearly 100 people.
- Hosted a Refugee Scholars conference for 63 aspiring and current students and set up a peer support network.
- Launched a new online mentoring project, matching our trained network of volunteers to support 59 aspiring refugee students with their UCAS and scholarship applications.
We want to see a shift in behaviour and mindset that make universities and local communities a more welcoming place for refugees. As global events continue to displace people across the world, demand for our work is only increasing.
We are a small but incredibly effective organisation powered by the passion and expertise of students across the UK. But we need your support to ensure that refugees in the UK can access higher education.
Education has always been my dream. Whatever my immigration status, financial circumstances, or age, my right to learn, read and write should be considered as my human right. Lamine, former STAR President
Fundraise: Plan your own fundraising event, like a Christmas quiz, a running challenge or give up chocolate. Or you can join the STAR Trek challenge! Choose start fundraising to set up your JustGiving page.
Donate: You can support us by making a donation to our Christmas campaign - big or small, it all makes a difference.
Share: We want this campaign to reach as many people as possible, so please share it on social media and with your friends and family to help us spread the word!
About STAR: Student Action for Refugees is the national network of students who are building a more welcoming and just society for people seeking asylum in the UK. We provide practical support and connect communities through volunteering, improving access to university, campaigning for policy change, and shifting the narrative about asylum by sharing stories from people who have lived experience of being a refugee. Our vision is a society where refugees are welcomed and can thrive in the UK.