Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. 

Art Refuge (www.artrefuge.org.uk) relies on individual donations and grants from small trusts to deliver its work. Overheads are kept to an absolute minimum which means that the vast majority of monies go into direct project delivery. As CEO, I am hugely grateful for the various personal fundraising initiatives that have taken place on behalf of the charity over the years, and grown in number during Covid19. Now I am undertaking my own personal physical challenge and attempting to raise some funds. 

Art Refuge's work mostly takes place with people from north Africa and the Middle East, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Kurdistan. Most are unaccompanied and under the age of 25. Delivered by a team of freelance art therapists, and artists with lived experience as refugees, the work is carried out in collaboration with other NGOs in each setting, and includes direct psychosocial art activities, crisis support, art therapy, training for frontline workers, ongoing support for foster carers and awareness raising. 

Since 2015, I have been privileged to work directly with people in transit on either side of the English Channel, in Calais and more recently in Kent. I have seen how our face-to-face and online groups, through The Community Table, can build on people's capacity to cope with stress, to hold onto imagination, to find connection. 

Our work is as relevant inside the UK as it is internationally. The UK government's hostile environment impacts directly and adversely on the mental and physical health of those seeking safety and protection, and is currently looking to get worse under the new Nationality and Borders Bill making its way through parliament.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

With my thanks.