Thousands of Britons volunteer to give a Syrian refugee a home - and here's how you can too
Volunteer schemes are emerging all over the country
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Your support makes all the difference.Thousands of members of the British public have volunteered to offer a home to Syrian refugees fleeing from war and persecution in their own country.
Many more have got involved in volunteer initiatives at community centres and village halls across the country in the past few days and continue to pile pressure on the Government to do more to help with the growing crisis.
Dr Zoe Fritz, a consultant at Cambridge University Hospital, said her “heart has sung” at the public response after she set up an online initiative for people to offer to give a bed.
“From people who clearly have the space to people who have said 'I don't have much but I have more than a tent on a beach somewhere'.
“I have been in tears. I've been very, very heartened. We can all offer to help but we need to turn that into action,” she said.
More than 2,600 people have signed up to Dr Fritz’s Change.org petition stating that “we are willing to house Syrian refugees” – and calling on the Government to do the same.
A further 5,000 people have also registered as volunteers for a more general Citizens UK scheme offering to help make Britain “a safe haven for Syrians”. Their contributions range from offering a spare bed to advocating on behalf of refugees with local authorities.
These are just two of the initiatives that have been set up since images of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach sparked outrage around the world.
If you would like to welcome refugees to Britain and put pressure on the Government to do the same, you can click here to sign The Independent’s Change.org petition calling on David Cameron to take action.
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