On 1 July Sunlowers Kids Club celebrated it’s opening. This children’s club has been established in York by Lena Henderson a Mindfulness Educator by profession, to support and enhance the emotional well-being of Ukrainian refugee children and their carers.

The Club will be run by a team of professionals, most of whom are newly arrived Ukrainians. 50 childen have been registered with the club already. They will have opportunities to learn, express themselves, enhance their emotional well-being, make friends and integrate into British society. A team of experienced teachers and psychologists will deliver group and individual sessions of art, music and mindfulness to help them process emotions and deal with transition in a nurturing way.

The Launch event was a wonderful opportunity to bring people together in this fun and nurturing space. Ukrainian families who have registered their children to the club saw the wonderful facilities, met the team and other local people who have kindly supported the establishment of the club.

Sunflowers Kids Club Launch Event_2

We also had some children from the local school to bring the money they have raised for the Club. A School Council from St Peter’s school have been busy raising money by selling sunflower seeds. Kate who is 7, said: “I was planting sunflowers in my garden, and I thought it was a good idea to have a school sunflower growing competition as sunflowers are the symbol of Ukraine and face the sun and wobble.” The council has raised £93! You can hear the interview aired on BBC Radio York here.

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Sunflowers Kids Club Launch Event_4

Lena Henderson, Sunflowers Kids Club Founder, said: “We are so excited to open our doors to children and young people 0-17 who have faced such challenges and trauma, and at the moment can’t plan even six months ahead. And like sunflowers that always follow the sun, we are going to bring some warmth and sunshine to the lives of Ukrainian families here, in the heart of York.”

If you would like to support us, you can do it any many ways:- donate on our website https://sunflowersinyork.org/
– Become a ‘donour’ and pay for a child’s space for 3 or 6 months
– Become a sponsor and be involved in supporting local Ukrainians into their employment.

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