3 new Syrian families are due in Ripon in November. Each family will need to spend 10 days in quarantine, so it will be very challenging for them, especially as they can only bring a suitcase each and the children won’t have any toys. Arrival in a strange country is enormously stressful and we’d like to help ease this difficult time for them.

That’s why we’re collecting some basics to give the families a warm Ripon welcome, and to help them to pass the 10 days as quickly and easily as possible. There are 2 categories of things we need:

• Welcome gifts for each individual (as easy/enjoyable as it is to buy for children, mums and dads bear the brunt of the stress and need a warm welcome, too!)
• Household items.

What can you contribute?

Welcome gifts for individuals

Supporters have already started contacting us because people love to welcome the families by donating a gift in advance. Each of the 3 families has a dad and a mum, and across them all are 6 children. So if you’d like to contribute, we’d suggest up to £10 per gift. It works like this:

• If you’d like to contribute an gift for a man, woman or child (or multiples, if you like), think of your own idea OR choose something from the list below. Please see our notice at the end about what shouldn’t be donated. Personal gifts should be new, not second-hand. 
• BEFORE YOU PURCHASE/DONATE ANYTHING, please let us know what you’re getting. This way, we can avoid getting 12 of the same thing! 
• If you wish, you can put in a card or note welcoming the family to Ripon, and even put in a photo of yourself or your family. Feel free to write it in English, and include your name if you wish. You can also download and print this text in Arabic and pop it in as well (it says: “Welcome to Britain, and especially to Ripon. We hope you will settle in quickly and be very happy here. We hope your quarantine period is not too difficult.” It prints 2 to a sheet of A4, so you may need to cut one side off). 
• Please deliver it to us BEFORE 9 November 2021. We’ll let you know where to deliver when you contact us, above.
• We’ll then put all the gifts for each individual in a gift bag, and arrange for the bags to be left in the house on arrival (even we don’t get to hand them over!).