Ukraine Appeal

Here’s all the latest on how Kerith Community Church is supporting Ukraine.

Kerith’s response going forward

We are looking to resource the relief effort in 3 areas:

  • In Ukraine - partnering with our church contacts and individuals carrying out relief work on the ground within Ukraine

  • On the borders - partnering with churches and other organisations in Europe caring for the refugees fleeing the country.

  • In the UK - we will look to play our part in hosting refugees being welcomed to the UK

    Given the fluidity of the situation we are still working our way through lots of the finer details & who we partner with, but all of the money given will be used in one of these three areas. 

    We would also encourage you to consider giving to the UK DEC appeal - Tearfund are a great Christian charity that are a part of this and who we have worked with for many years. You can find more details and make a donation to Tearfund here:

    www.tearfund.org/campaigns/ukraine-crisis

Hosting a Ukrainian family

Psychotherapist Wendy Jackson, speaks with Kris Jager about hosting a Ukrainian family living with the effects of trauma. This video series will focus on preparing for the trauma your Ukranian guests may be experiencing.

Part 1, Self care, how avoid burn out and secondary trauma.

Part 2, Understanding how the body reacts to trauma.

Part 3, How to calm your body after trauma, stage 1, Safety and Stabilization.

Part 4, Stages 2 and 3, Processing and Meaning Making.

Part 5, Understanding self harm and suicidal thoughts.

There’s also this 3 part series looking at the “after the honeymoon” stage. This conversation with a volunteer and host with SafeSpaces RBWM, is discussing some concerns that have come up for hosts as the honeymoon period has passed and the reality of sharing your home with a family with a different culture.

Part 1 of 3, For Hosts of Ukrainian families, after the Honeymoon.

Part 2 of 3, For Hosts of Ukrainian families, after the Honeymoon.

Part 3 of 3, For Hosts of Ukrainian families, after the honeymoon.

Sleeping Bag Appeal

Back in early March we as a community got together to collect sleeping bags to send to a church in Ukraine. We just want to say a massive thank you to those of you who donated and gave your time to make this possible. Here’s a video to show that journey.

Supporting New Arrivals from Ukraine in the UK

The Sanctuary Foundation headed up by Krish Kandiah is a great place to start if you’d like to get further involved.

The details of the government scheme to support Ukrainian refugees in the UK are being developed at pace and we are committed as a church to help where we can. We’ve signed up to be a sponsor community with The Sanctuary Foundation & Welcome Churches, pledging to welcome refugees into our community.

You can also sign up as an individual, a community group, a business or family as a potential sponsor and can help in a breadth of potential ways including:

  • Welcoming a Ukrainian family to live in your community

  • Finding and possibly furnishing suitable accommodation

  • Raising of support funds (in previous sponsorships this has been £1k - 9k per family)

  • Befriending and integration support through volunteering your time (e.g. helping families sign up for schools, GP’s, navigating life in the UK etc)

If you’re interested in putting yourself forward as a sponsor, go to Homes for Ukraine Campaign to register & also pledge your support with The Sanctuary Foundation.

We would love to know if you have registered as a host or can offer support/assistance in any other way - click on the link below:

Are you Ukrainian & seeking support in the UK?

OR perhaps you have another query?

Get in touch with us here: