Pupils at St Dunstan’s College Junior School have held a charity bake sale to raise money for Ukraine.

The bake sale, which was supporting the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Appeal, raised more than £730.00. This now means £4,000 has been raised by St Dunstan’s College for the DEC’s ongoing humanitarian appeal.

Speaking about the sale, Head of Junior School, Miss Whitwood said: ‘I would like to take the opportunity to thank our parents and pupils for their overwhelming generosity in supporting our bake sale

‘There were a huge number of beautifully decorated and delicious blue and yellow creations, and the event today demonstrates how small acts of kindness can collectively make a great difference to the lives of others.’

Earlier this month, students collected and packed donations for Lewisham Polish Centre, which was transporting supplies to the Polish border for arriving refugees. Parents and students generously brought in hundreds of items including thermal blankets, gloves, sleeping bags and mats. Donations also included easy food items such as baby formula, food pouches, energy bars and MRE ration packs.

Speaking about the collection, St Dunstan’s Deputy Head Pastoral, Mrs Jade McLellan explained: ‘When we saw the horrifying images from Ukraine of families, predominately women and children, being forced to flee, we knew that the community would want to rally round and offer support. The work of Lewisham Polish Centre came to our attention via social media after being promoted by some of our local MPs and councillors. Having held donation drives for Lewisham charities in the past, we knew that our families would give generously and would also give the exact items needed for the appeal.

‘Many members of the community have rallied round to give items, source packing materials and finally to pack up the items yesterday which we hope will be taken to the Poland/Ukraine border this week. Although we know that large humanitarian organisations are setting up reception centres, many families are escaping through smaller villages, and we know Lewisham Polish Centre are using their local connections to ensure supplies get to these overlooked places as well.

‘It was a truly heart-warming experience to see teams of 15–18-year-olds rolling up their sleeves and getting to work; a force of future humanitarian workers in action! As a team, we now turn our thoughts towards future fundraising opportunities and will remain in touch with local organisations who are supporting refugees overseas or indeed in the UK who may need our support.’

‘We have been so pleased with the quick response, both to the collection, and to our DEC Ukraine Appeal fund, which we have since launched to support the refugees,’ Mrs McLellan added.

When the invasion first started, the Headmaster, Mr Nicholas Hewlett, hosted a special assembly for Senior School students. During the assembly, he paid tribute to the people of Ukraine and their courage as the faced this atrocity. ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people of Ukraine as they face this terrible development in Europe’s history,’ he explained.