Mears Afghan Refugee Appeal

Everyone will have watched the awful events unfold in Afghanistan.  As a result, 20,000 Afghan refugees will be welcomed to the UK in the coming months and years, as the Government unveiled the details of a scheme to provide sanctuary for those most at risk of persecution by the Taliban.

As a business who prides itself on having a social heart and provides housing services to Asylum Seekers, we must help and therefore, have put together a support plan not only for now but also the long term.

We are currently talking to refugee organisations and working with the Mears Foundation to better understand what long term support looks like.  We will be exploring options around improving life skills (including English language), providing IT and other equipment and also employment opportunities.  Once we have a firm plan, we will share this with you.  In the meantime, below sets out how you can all help now.

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How can Mears branches help?

Mears have decided to focus on specific items to be collected and donated. Get your branch team involved to collect and donate the following items:

• Clothes and shoes (particularly slim, young men),
• Toiletries
• Tinned foods
• Toys/baby items
• Sanitary supplies
• Old (working) phones/chargers

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Who should get involved?

Everyone can help to support refugees in times of crisis. You can also help to encourage others to show their support by:

• Engaging with your client teams to get involved
• Promoting with your customers
• Promoting with customer engagement groups
• Promoting and involving your supply chain partners and sub-contractors

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Who do I donate the items to?

The first place to look is on the government website, as this will help identify what is required in your local area. It is really simple and informative, find out more here. We have also sourced some local charities you can support:

• The Salvation Army clothing banks
• Save the Children - emergency appeal
• British Red Cross
• Oxfam
• Islamic Relief Fund‍