Children St Mark’s School in Weston super Mare have donated 20 bags filled with teddies and cuddly toys to send to children in Ukraine following a video appeal from a pupil at the school whose family is Ukrainian. Alexandra made the short video, talking about her family and thanking people for the support they’ve received from the school, their friends, and neighbours.
A label was attached to each teddy which carries a message saying, 'Please look after this bear love from St Mark's Primary School England'. Another Ukrainian mother, with a child at the school, translated the message into Ukrainian and hand wrote each of the labels. The pupils also added their own messages.
Helen Bath, Headteacher at St Mark’s said, “Alexandra has most certainly 'Let her Light Shine! It was without doubt the most 'heart-warming' gate duty of my career as children, one after another, so willingly gave their teddies to Alexandra and she thanked them in Ukrainian. One of our Ukrainian mums handwrote on brown labels in Ukrainian, she sat in our entrance hall attaching the labels. it was lovely to see her smiling whilst doing so, she felt that she was doing something positive to help her wider Ukrainian family.
“The generosity of the children & families of St Mark's has been overwhelming.”
Pupils at the school are also planning to have a special day where they wear the Ukrainian colours of blue and yellow to show their support for the country. Sunflowers are also being given to the children so families can display them, again to show support for those who are caught up in the conflict. The teddies, along with donations from local families, will make the long journey to Ukraine shortly.