Why us?

Our story

Helping refugees with their immediate daily needs for life, from somewhere to sleep to education and everything in between. This is what drives forRefugees - a passion for positively impacting the lives of refugees.

We uniquely provide small-scale grants and basic charity services to local partners on the ground across Europe. This is because we know that it's lots of grassroots efforts and voluntary helping hands that are improving the lives of real people, every day, right now.

Our Trustee, Nima, brings lived experience of being an asylum seeker in Europe (you can read his story here), whilst other trustees volunteer on the ground as often as they can. It’s important to us to get to know our local partners, their services and the needs of the refugee communities they’re supporting.

With unique insights into needs on the ground, a trusted network of inspiring grassroots partners, almost no overheads and absolutely no bureaucracy, making a donation to support our work is one of the most impactful ways you can make a difference to refugee lives today.

How we started

By Amber Bauer
Founder, Trustee & CEO

The enormity of Europe’s Refugee Crisis popped up, like any other post, on my Facebook feed in late 2015.

The post was from a young Dutch woman on a beautiful Greek tourist island called Lesvos. But her post was a far cry from tales of parties and beautiful sandy beaches that we might expect.

On the train home from work I was browsing social media when I started reading ‘Stories from the Ground’ and couldn’t stop.

The post started with “If you haven’t read my previous updates please do so.” I did. I read of overcrowded rubber dinghies full of freezing people, of 5,000 even 10,000 people arriving from Turkey in one day, of locals forbidden to offer people even a bed for the night. I read of death. And of people - volunteers like the author - doing all they could to help.

I was shocked; not just because it was hard to believe what was happening. But because I couldn’t understand it being allowed to happen. What were Europe’s politicians doing to help these people? And where were all the large aid agencies and charities that are household names?

A few short weeks later an image of a little boy in blue shorts and a red t-shirt rocked the world; his lifeless body found washed up on a Turkish beach. Four year old Alan, along with his mum and his brother, were amongst the latest victims of Europe’s Refugee Crisis; their deaths an unconscionable tragedy.

I couldn’t stand by and watch any longer. With my amazing husband’s support I resigned from my career and, in early 2016 - as the upcoming BREXIT Referendum stole UK headlines with shameful anti-immigrant lies - I started trying to figure out what I could do to help people who’d become refugees in Europe with hope of building a new life.

By mid 2016 we were a registered charity and starting our journey.