Welcome to Friends of Chernoby's Children (FOCC) Northallerton!
We are a small local charity which is part of a national charity, Friends of Chernobyl's Children which was established in 1994. This charity was originally set up to support children from disadvantaged social backgrounds in areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Western Russia that continue to be affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. We have been doing this since 1998 by bringing groups of children to the local area each summer for a recuperative visit of four weeks, staying with local host families. Due to the abundance of charities helping those in Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of the Chernobyl Disaster, our charity's focus has been on bringing children living in the highly contaminated areas of southern Belarus. Find out more about our group here.
Due to Covid-19 and now the current crisis in Ukraine, we have been forced to temporarily suspend our project providing respite visits for Belarusian children to UK. During this time the children and their families remain in our thoughts and prayers and we plan to restart this programme as soon as restrictions lift and it is safe to do so.
In the meantime we feel we cannot ignore those in urgent need of help fleeing the war in Ukraine, so we have set up our ‘Helping Heart for Ukraine’ project. In addition to sending urgent donations to Ukraine, this help will be in the form of providing and supporting host families for refugees, offering practical assistance as well as guidance to ensure refugees feel safe and welcome in our local community. This is in line with our constitutional aims "To relieve children from the areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Western Russia affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster by the provision of holidays for those children in conditions of need, hardship or distress, the relief of sickness, the relief of poverty and the supply and transport of humanitarian aid".
Please feel free to get in touch with us if you are hoping to host a Ukrainian family in the Northallerton area and are looking for support.
Due to Covid-19 and now the current crisis in Ukraine, we have been forced to temporarily suspend our project providing respite visits for Belarusian children to UK. During this time the children and their families remain in our thoughts and prayers and we plan to restart this programme as soon as restrictions lift and it is safe to do so.
In the meantime we feel we cannot ignore those in urgent need of help fleeing the war in Ukraine, so we have set up our ‘Helping Heart for Ukraine’ project. In addition to sending urgent donations to Ukraine, this help will be in the form of providing and supporting host families for refugees, offering practical assistance as well as guidance to ensure refugees feel safe and welcome in our local community. This is in line with our constitutional aims "To relieve children from the areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Western Russia affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster by the provision of holidays for those children in conditions of need, hardship or distress, the relief of sickness, the relief of poverty and the supply and transport of humanitarian aid".
Please feel free to get in touch with us if you are hoping to host a Ukrainian family in the Northallerton area and are looking for support.
Friends of Chernobyl's Children - A National Charity
In October 1994 one little Belarussian girl came to stay in Lancashire with Olwyn Keogh MBE, the now Founder / Director of the Friends of Chernobyl's Children charity. The impact of that first visit initiated the beginnings of the FOCC and the following year 50 children came from Belarus for a four week recuperative visit to East Lancashire.
Since then the charity has grown nationwide and today there are multiple FOCC groups throughout the country.
Friends of Chernobyl's Children is a registered charity which devotes its energies to raising funds to bring children who are at risk, from Belarus to the United Kingdom for a month every year. The charity targets children from severely disadvantaged homes, aged between six and thirteen. These children are in great need and come from social situations that make it difficult for them to get the care they require at home.
To contact the charity's founder Olwyn Keogh MBE please e-mail olwyn.keogh@btinternet.com
In October 1994 one little Belarussian girl came to stay in Lancashire with Olwyn Keogh MBE, the now Founder / Director of the Friends of Chernobyl's Children charity. The impact of that first visit initiated the beginnings of the FOCC and the following year 50 children came from Belarus for a four week recuperative visit to East Lancashire.
Since then the charity has grown nationwide and today there are multiple FOCC groups throughout the country.
Friends of Chernobyl's Children is a registered charity which devotes its energies to raising funds to bring children who are at risk, from Belarus to the United Kingdom for a month every year. The charity targets children from severely disadvantaged homes, aged between six and thirteen. These children are in great need and come from social situations that make it difficult for them to get the care they require at home.
To contact the charity's founder Olwyn Keogh MBE please e-mail olwyn.keogh@btinternet.com
John Buckby is CEO and Treasurer of Friends of Chernobyl's Children.
He is also co-ordinator of the West Leicester FOCC group. If you are interested in starting a new group in your local area we would love to hear from you. To contact John, please email him at: john.evolution@btinternet.com. |
Alison Shepherd and Linda Spence are coordinator and safeguarding officer for the Northallerton Group. Both have been involved with the charity in various capacities for well over a decade.
Together with other committee members, they visit local groups and associations to give talks and presentations to promote the charity. If you would like us to come and talk to your group, please get in touch. Tel. 07795 142 855 or send an email to foccnorthallerton@outlook.com. |
- Find out more about our fundraising events and how you can help us here.
- Could you sponsor one of our children? Find out more about sponsoring a child here.
- Would you like to volunteer your time or donate items to FOCC Northallerton? Find out more here.
- If you'd like to find out more about how to become a host family, look here.
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