Thanks to Claire's Kitchen and the teachers and students of The Combe in Minehead, who organised a fantastic "Arabian Nights" dining experience for us, we have now reached our goal of £1,000.00.

We are so grateful for all the kind support we have received so far! A lovely lady in Minehead has been knitting hats for us - by the end of the week we are going to pick up 18 hats from her. Another lady in Taunton is busy knitting scarves.

We have now also identified the two projects we would like to support:

1. Children of Calais

This group brings aid, heated shelters, pop up schools and nurses to refugee children and their families stranded in the camps and squats of Calais and Northern France. They have asked us to pack bags for teenage boys who far too often get forgotten. Many of these boys have travelled alone, sent off by their parents to save them from being enlisted by military groups.

2. HEART ELT

A group of volunteers is setting up a school for Syrian refugee children, Heart School project at a refugee camp near Dohuk in Iraq. We will be packing bags for children aged 8-10, with material to help them learn.

The school is also looking for English pen friends for the Syrian children. Our experience with local school has sadly not been overwhelming - if you know a school you think would be up for this, please get in touch!

Thanks for everybody's support so far. We will give you an update on the two projects next week. We are currently awaiting more details and some photos from the organisers.

Elke Winzer (on behalf of Alexander who is at school)