Stamford College proudly joined forces with Stamford Diversity Group, Stamford Town Council and the Homes for Ukrainians Stamford and Villages Facebook group to provide a welcome evening for refugees and their hosts.
The evening was free to attend, with the cost of the ingredients covered by the sales of The Ukraine Anthology by Kathy Joyce and Amelia Billington, Stamford World Cook Book and international food sampling at the Jubilee event held by Stamford Diversity Group.
Throughout the evening, everyone enjoyed poetry by Stamford’s Poet Laureate Scott Coe and Youth Poet Laureate Daniel Paice, with all poems recited in English and Ukrainian.
The final part of the evening encouraged our guests, hosts and families to socialise in a friendly and informal environment, with everyone getting to know each other and building what we hope will be life-long connections.
The well-attended event welcomed over fifty people, with local media representatives from Stamford Mercury, Planet Radio and Stamford and Rutland Sound also kindly attending and supporting the event.
Yvette Diaz-Muñoz, chairperson of Stamford Diversity Group, said: "It was a really beautiful event. I've had lots of people messaging me to say 'thank you for such a wonderful and thoughtful evening'. They appreciated the idea as a gesture of solidarity.
Councillor Amanda Wheeler told us it was a special occasion to be a part of: 'It's one of the most wonderful things about Stamford, it is such a great community and everyone's rallied together. Stamford College have provided so much for this evening, in terms of the venue, the staff, the food.'
'It's been the most fabulous evening and it's only just started, the atmosphere's great, people are buzzing and there's a real sense of companionship and positivity.'
Yvette Diaz-Munoz from Stamford Diversity Group said: 'All the students here at Stamford College are here voluntarily in their own time cooking and serving the food just out of the good of their heart really, so it's a beautiful thing.'
