We were all very moved over the summer by the plight of refugees in the news and so earlier this term decided to organise a Toy Bag Appeal to support the 62 refugee children who are being accommodated near Heathrow by putting together toy bags for them. Two children were allocated to each senior school form who created an individual toy bag for each child, with age appropriate brand new toys and gifts including books, school stationery, hair accessories and dolls. The new backpacks which held the toys were also donated for the children who would be starting school here in the UK for the first time.

We were bowled over by the response with over 65 bags donated! Thank you all for your generosity.

Here’s what some of our students said about the appeal. 

“Our group wanted to help a three year old girl, so we chose things that we would have enjoyed at her age, like books, colouring pencils and pens, and toys. I wanted to get involved because I think it is very important to help others, especially young children who need the best start in life as growing up is one of the most important points in your life. I think helping others and giving to charity makes you feel so happy, as you know that you have done something to help, even when it seems like you are so helpless. I hope that our gifts to the little girl will give her the opportunity to be creative, learn and play. It has given me such joy in knowing that I have done a little bit to welcome her into our community and I wish all the best to her and her family.”

Ella, Year 7

“My group made a toy bag for a twelve year old boy, where we filled the bag with toys, books, and stationery. We gave him stationary for school and books that we had enjoyed ourselves. We chose toys such as a game and some stuffed toys to give him something nice, so that he would be happy and had something to do. I wanted to be a part of this as I thought that it was a really nice idea, seeing as these children will have almost nothing, so giving them a bag full of toys could make them feel more comfortable living here and happier. I hope that the boy receiving our bag of toys feels more at home here, and that it makes him feel happy and welcome.”

Adeline, Year 7

“I wanted to get involved in this activity because I am aware of the harsh conditions the refuges are living in and I wanted to be able to help them. The things I donated were a toy story jumper and some cosy Spiderman pyjamas! I chose these because it is winter soon and I wanted to make sure the three year old boy would be warm during the day and would enjoy wearing the clothes. I hope that the toy bag my friends and I donated will bring joy to the little boy during this hard and traumatic time for refugees.”

Serena, Year 7

“Hearing of  the plight of the Afghan refugees over the summer moved me, especially hearing about the young children who have been displaced, and I wanted to do something to help them feel more at home in England. When I heard we would be providing gifts for the refugee children currently housed in Heathrow I was very pleased to know I could do something to help them. My form were allocated an 11 year old and 15 year old boy. I knew that school supplies like notebooks, pens, pencils,  and a reusable water bottle, whilst not particularly awe-inspiring, would be very useful as they start school. We also wanted to provide a backpack they could take to school and carry their school supplies. Playing cards, and card games like Uno, we thought, would also be a good gift as these are internationally played games and require no understanding of English to play. For the 11 year old we also gifted a some Lego as we thought this would be something he would enjoy playing with.

We hope that by gifting these bags we are showing the children at Heathrow that they are not alone in this difficult transition, and hopefully the items we have given will help make this transition easier for them.”

Maya, Year 13

We look forward to helping Care 4 Calais in the future with other appeals and fundraising activities!