Madrid Scouts Christmas Fundraising For Refugees
The British Scouts of Madrid are fundraising for refugees with two performances of Face2Face Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol”.
Catherine Fenton, the Scout’s leader, explains why the troop decided to support the ACNUR UN Refugee Agency.
“Back in September, watching the Afghan society fall apart and the desperate scenes at the airport, we wondered how could we, sitting here in Madrid, be of any help at all.
Hearing that the military airport at Torrejon would be an international hub for refugees we had a hope that we could do something practical, like collect clothes or food, but having done the rounds calling up aid agencies, we were told that they had all been moved on within a week.
Talking to ACNUR-UNHCR (United Nations Commissoner for Refugees) we were told that what they really needed was funds to provide practical help to families caught up for an unspecified time in refugee camps, most likely in Pakistan, with the prospect of facing a very cold winter ahead.
At the same time one of our aims for Autumn term at 1st Madrid Scouts was to take our young people to the theatre, as some had never been before.
We had already spoken to Face2Face during Summer to find out what their programme would be, but at that time, with the situation around Covid-19 they did not have a confirmed venue.
Knowing that St George´s School, our Scout base, had a theatre, together we decided to launch a show that would help raise money for ACNUR-UNHCR.
Paolo Abbate from Face2Face was already a regular donor to the charity and happy to give his support.
Over summer St George school had completely refurbished the theatre and were delighted to be part of a Christmas Carol.
Due to the restrictions dictated by the Comunidad de Madrid there is a limit on how many tickets can be sold within a school environment, so Giles Montier the school head, took the generous decision to waive any fee to allow Face2Face enough income to pay the actors and still provide a donation to ACNUR-UNCHR.
Two afternoon performances at 17.00 will be available 10 and 11 December.
We will be singing some Christmas Carols together before the show and will encourage the audience to join in.
The older sections of our group, Explorers and Scouts will be volunteering at the performances acting as ushers and selling drinks to raise extra money, so please bring some change to donate and remember- tickets are limited.
The true spirit of Christmas is charity and as Ebaneezer Scrooge found out, brings warmth and joy to us all”.
