A fundraiser for a refugee charity is under threat of closure
Refugee charity Refugease, based in Royal Tonbridge Wells, Kent, UK, said it was facing a financial crisis due to the rising cost of living and “donor fatigue”. They are trying to save it from closure.
This organization was created in 2015 to collect and distribute aid in conflict zones throughout Europe and beyond – in Eastern Ukraine, Syria and Gaza. In a post on their fundraising page, the charity’s founders stated:
“As the cost of living crisis has worsened and new wars and natural disasters have become more frequent, this has understandably led to donor fatigue. People have much less disposable income, so the amount of aid they send has dropped dramatically.”
The charity has shops in Royal Tonbridge Wells, Maidstone and Uxbridge selling vintage goods to raise money for its cause.
Valentina Osborne, founder of Refugeease, states:
“Refugease has been my life for almost a decade. It would be terrible if the charity stopped. To continue to operate as we have, we need to find other sustainable and reliable ways of raising money. We just can’t make ends meet. We will do it regardless all aid cuts. We focus our aid in areas of conflict where other charities are not working. We have a strong desire to return to serving the most vulnerable people in the world.”
The organization of the aid of this charity began as a direct result of the death of two-year-old Alan Kurdi from Syria, who drowned. He was found on a Turkish beach in 2015.