The Rucksack Project

Franchetti Bond is continuing to show its support for displaced Ukrainian children by selling special edition sunflower Growbars in their Duke of York Square store during Chelsea Flower Show and Chelsea in Bloom this week (23rd-27th May).

Sunflowers have long been a beloved symbol of Ukrainian national identity and have emerged as a sign of resistance and peace. By buying a special edition sunflower Growbar, not only will you be supporting the Rucksack Project - an initiative providing therapy sessions to Ukrainian children - but growing the sunflowers will show your solidarity in creating peace in the war-torn country. Grow a sunflower and give a life this week.

Please visit the Franchetti Bond store to buy a Growbar at
50-51 Duke of York Square, London, SW3 4LY, or call 0207 823 5550 to reserve a bar.

Happy World Book Day! We recognise the importance of reading for children and, as we encourage children to celebrate , we want to share some of the benefits we’ve seen with our Rucksack reading events:

- Ukrainian children have been able to work through their experiences of war trauma by reading the Rucksack story
- parents and caregivers have been able to support their children can bridge the gap in conversation about war experiences by using Rucksack as a healing tool
- non-Ukrainian pupils have been able to learn more about the war in an accessible manner in a safe space, and they have become unafraid to ask questions to displaced Ukrainian classmates. They have developed compassion for those around them affected by the war
- Rucksack has become a cultural exchange: young readers can learn English or Ukrainian, as the book has been written in both!

To our supporters in the UK, you can buy a copy of Rucksack on our website (link in our bio). All sales go into running trauma therapy sessions and book readings for displaced Ukrainian families.

You can also donate to our JustGiving page, so we can provide more Rucksack books for children.

The Rucksack Project came to Reading School last Saturday to support families who have been displaced in the Reading area by working through their experiences of war trauma in a safe environment. The event was organised in collaboration with the New Roots Initiative (Нов

Since launching in September, the Rucksack project has already provided psychological support to hundreds of displaced children and their parents, but as we approach the New Year, we still need to help thousands of families across Europe.

We need your support in the coming year - please donate to the link in our bio to keep the project going and provide vital support to displaced Ukrainian children. Thank you to everyone for supporting us already!

From the entire Rucksack Project team, we wish you all a happy and peaceful New Year.