Christmas Bags of Love Campaign

Over 1000 Christmas Bags of Love for Children in Ukraine were boxed and sent to children in the Ukraine.

Our goal was to keep going so that  as many children as possible can have a happy moment and bag of gifts amidst this terrible situation .

We have had many volunteers making bags knitting incredible toys ,hats ,gloves and scarves.

Many gifts have been donated from community groups ,individuals and schools all gratefully received and immediately packed!

Please continue to support us in any way you can by visiting the just giving page, using the amazon wish list or donating a small unwrapped gift to a local collection point .

No donation is too small and it all adds up to become more bags for the children.

The Links for Christmas Bags of Love

Our community can get involved in two (or three) easy steps - here is how:-

Click on the link in the attached poster to visit our Just Giving Page; you set the amount you would like to give.  Our volunteers will then shop for items and make up the Christmas Bags of Love with the funds donated.   Please reference XMAS on any just giving donations to ensure these funds go to support the Christmas Bags of Love.    

or

Click on the link in the attached poster with the Amazon Wish List

or

Speak to your school to find out if they are acting as a collection point for donated items for Christmas Bags of Love.

Follow the link below to find out more.

Thank you to all for your donations so far; Franky has been busy packing and boxing the Christmas Bags of Love received so far.   As of  Friday 21st October 2022, 500 bags have been prepared.

Please see the posters and links above for how you can get involved; please share with your school and community to increase awareness of this campaign.

The Background to our Bags of Love 

In April, we launched Phase 2 with Kent Help for Ukraine - Bags of Love.   We were inspired by a lady from Poland who ran a similar campaign for herself (see the video link further down the page).  Our aim was to send 1000 rucksacks to children and young people in the Ukraine.  In May, two of our volunteers - Denise and Phil - travelled to Lviv in Ukraine with the first 270 bags.   By the end of July we had collected and sent over 2000 bags to the children and young people in the Ukraine.

Within our Bags of Love pages, you can see a photo gallery with images and videos that show our story so far; this has been a truly humbling experience and we thank every person who has been involved with this initative.   A special huge thank you to all the volunteers behind the scenes for your hard work - rain or shine - at the hub in Folkestone.   

And this is the lady that inspired us to do it!  CLICK HERE : Polish lady brings joy to children displaced from the Ukraine

What a mighty effort from 6 Year old from the village of Hildenborough 

A big shout out to Margot, Julian,  Zilpha and the wider community from Hildenborough who have contributed a staggering 230 bags to this campaign. 

Little Margot is very sad about the situation in Ukraine and asked her mum Zilpha if she could sell most of her toys to raise money for children who don't have a house, toys, anything much any more. She has sold more than half of what she has on eBay, and her family have matched the money she has raised, and bought / made 90 bags with her funds so far.  Margot who attends Weald Community Primary School has also had support from some of her school friends.

Mum told us 'Margot is only 6 years old so we feel proud that she feels deeply for others who are in a terrible situation'.

Mum Zilpha has been equally passionate about this initiative and has involved many people from the wider community/parish.  All of this after they organised  a big collection at home, and collected about 1.8 tonnes of aid from Hildenborough.

This was such a huge effort that a removal lorry was required to move the aid. A special word of thanks  to Britannia Bearsby's of Tonbridge who supplied the lorry and 2 strong men for free. 

Thank you to St John's  Hildenborough who are also spreading the word in Bags of Love. 

A Little More about Kent Help for Ukraine

At the beginning of March, a local Headteacher from Elham started Kent Help for Ukraine.  The idea was to create a collection point and send a few small vans of humanitarian aid into Ukraine.   A list of desired items was shared locally as collections in and around Folkestone started to come in.  A just giving page was also set up to collect money to help with fuel costs.

So far, 20 HGVs full of humanitarian aid have been sent deep in Ukraine where we know it is saving lives.  It is estimated that this is worth almost £1 million !

A fantastic group of volunteers have been working together at the drop off point collecting, sorting and loading donations that have come from across Kent (and sometimes beyond).   Schools from across Kent have contributed to this aid hugely. 

The Just Giving page has now raised close to £40,000.   This has paid for the fuel for the vehicles.  The links below will provide further information.