Seaford College is appealing to the local community to donate items in aid of the million-plus refugees fleeing to Poland from the war in Ukraine.

The school has become a local collection and distribution hub following an appeal last weekend from the local Polish community. Seaford College has joined forces with schools from Camelsdale, Petworth, Graffham and Duncton, along with dozens of volunteers to sort through the donations. A lorry has been booked to take up to 650 boxes of items to Poland on Sunday 13th March.

The vast majority of the estimated 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees have travelled to Poland, and many more, mainly women and children, are expected to make the dangerous journey west.

Colleen Hayes, Seaford’s Charity and Community Coordinator, said that many of the refugees left their homes with almost nothing, and urged parents and those in the local area to donate good quality clothing, toiletries, medical supplies, baby products, small toys and colouring books.

“There’s been an amazing response from students, teachers, Seaford staff, parents and the local community. Just to sort through all the items before the weekend is a mammoth task, but we still need lots more to fill the lorry.”

With the help from a couple of Seaford parents who fully understand the logistical aspects of exports into Europe we have sourced transport to drive our donations to Poland, where they will be distributed. We have capacity for 650 boxes, to be loaded onto pallets for a Sunday 13th March, departure date, so please spread the word around your own communities and social groups, as we are the central hub for the area.

These are the donations required:

• Brand new and used (good quality) children’s clothing

• Batteries of all sizes

• Torches

• Sleeping bags

• Good quality (nearly new) or new bedding / foil blankets– no cushions or pillows

• Good quality (nearly new) or new towels

• Toothbrushes

• Toothpaste

• Shower gel

• Toilet rolls

• New cuddly toys

• Colouring books and pens – no games, toys, books or jigsaws

It would be extremely helpful to separate your goods into specific categories and label them accordingly. It makes the sorting process faster and more efficient. To package the goods up correctly, the deadline for donations to arrive on site needs to be Wednesday 9th March. We need as many volunteers as possible to help collect donations from their own local communities, and package them in our Seaford marquee. Any time you can spare would be most appreciated. Volunteers can come and help any time from now through to Sunday.

Seaford’s community of parents and students can drop their donations at the Year 9 Marquee in front of the Music Department and our friends in the wider community should contact charitycommittee@seaford.org to make arrangements for collections/delivery.