Spread Love and Laughter to Refugees This Valentine's Day

I get numerous press releases into my email inbox everyday and most of them get a quick glance, but this one stood out to me, because it's a product that is for a great cause that I couldn't wait to share with you!

Barfoot & Duggan are home & gift designers from Bristol who have partnered with the charity Clowns Without Borders UK. The charity bring performances and workshops to refugee children, children who have seen the very worst this world has to offer and it gives them a reason to laugh, smile & act like children again. I told you it was a great cause.

For me, one of the most difficult things in the refugee crisis in Europe at the minute, is that these are families just like yours or mine, they are entire generations of families who had normal lives, who would come home each night, and sit down over an evening meal and talk about their day, just like we do. Then crisis hit them, for many it was war that is still tearing apart their homeland, for others (from Africa) it's severe poverty. And in the middle of this crisis there are millions of children who have been torn away from everything they've ever known, into a world where they sleep in tents in the freezing cold, where there isn't always enough food to go around, where they ask the question "where are we going?" and no-one can give them the answer.

I've spoken to a number of people who think refugees should be turned away from the UK, and I simply can't comprehend that view. Imagine it was your family, your children, imagine it was you that had walked thousands of miles just to feel safe. Only to then find that you were the subject of abuse, that no-one wanted you because you were a "problem", because there was no room for you. There's always room, sometimes you just have to make it. I think the main reason some Brits struggle to understand how to deal with refugees is that historically Britain is where people seek refuge, we have not been the ones fleeing, we don't understand. Germany knows what it's like to have to leave your home to survive, and yes there have been issues, but how much of that is down to the refugees themselves, rather than the attitudes expressed towards them?

Anyway, this post has become very serious and I honestly didn't intend it to. Back to the charity and how you can help!

Above you can see the pin that Barfoot and Dugan have designed to raise money for Clowns Without Borders UK. I think it's quite sweet and fits well with Valentine's Day which is all about spreading love isn't it?

The pin will be availble to buy from the Barfoot and Dugan website from the 1st February, and £1 from each sale goes to the charity.

I'd love to know your thoughts, so drop me a comment below!

Sorry about the rather serious tone in the middle of this post, it's something I care deeply about.

Stay safe, x