![\"Coleen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/KKVQPJK5MBMU3CMCUE5ZHD3NUA.jpg\")
Coleen Rooney UNICEF High Profile Supporter talks with Yuliia Karpenko in a park near Cracow main train station. Cracow (Jan Brykczy\u0144ski) <\/p>\nColeen Rooney has said Unicef support for Ukrainian families has been a \u201clifeline\u201d that is \u201cchanging lives\u201d.<\/p>\n
The media personality recently travelled to Poland with Unicef to see how Soccer Aid donations have directly supported Ukrainian families who were forced to flee their homes.<\/p>\n
The 39-year-old said she could not \u201cimagine\u201d what Ukrainian refugee families must be going through, emphasising how important it is to stand with them.<\/p>\n
Coleen Rooney UNICEF High Profile Supporter talks with Yuliia Karpenko in a park near Cracow main train station. Cracow (Jan Brykczy\u0144ski) <\/p>\n
She said: \u201cI can relate to being a mum and the first thing (you would do) in that situation is to get out of danger, to make sure that the kids are OK and we can find somewhere.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine what was going through their heads\u2026 the emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n While in Krakow she visited the Spilno Hub, which helps families find accommodation and offers access to a range of services such as psychosocial support and legal assistance.<\/p>\n The Unicef-run centre has helped people such as Yuliia Karpenko, her sister Olisia and Yuliia\u2019s four-year-old daughter Anastasiia \u201cNastia\u201d who were forced to flee Ukraine with just one bag on an evacuation train.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cHearing about the lasting effect the war in Ukraine has had on Yuliia and her family will stay with me for a long time.<\/p>\n \u201cHer determination to create a safe and supportive community for her family in Poland really shone through.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to Unicef, she\u2019s been able to meet other mums, learn Polish and find work in a kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd her daughter, Nastia, has been able to make friends with other children and spend time playing, just as any four-year-old should.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a privilege meeting Yuliia and her family and to see how money raised by Soccer Aid for Unicef really is changing lives.<\/p>\n \u201cLeaving their home and not knowing when they\u2019ll be able to return was so hard for them.<\/p>\n \u201cBut spending time at the Spilno Hub has helped them to feel safe.<\/p>\n \u201cIt supports families who\u2019ve fled the war in Ukraine in so many ways.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very special place.\u201d<\/p>\n During the trip, Rooney visited the Education Rehabilitation Centre, a specialist school funded by the children\u2019s organisation which supports young people with disabilities.<\/p>\n There she met a young autistic boy, Murat, who could not talk when they first left Ukraine and has since been able to say a few words.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cIt\u2019s such a calming place and the teachers there are so supportive and caring.<\/p>\n \u201cKateryna (Murat\u2019s mother) told me that the changes she\u2019s seen in Murat have been incredible.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen they left Ukraine he wasn\u2019t able to talk but he\u2019s now started to say some words and can communicate with other children too.<\/p>\n \u201cShe said that when they arrived in Poland she felt hopeless but, thanks to Unicef, she can now see a future there for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Donations made to Soccer Aid for Unicef will be doubled this year up to \u00a35 million thanks to the Children\u2019s Investment Fund Foundation.<\/p>\n Rooney said: \u201cAs a mum myself, I couldn\u2019t help but think of my own boys when I met children like Nastia and Murat.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing them smile and play despite everything they\u2019ve been through was incredibly moving.<\/p>\n \u201cHearing their stories really reminded me how important it is that we stand with families who\u2019ve been through so much, every child deserves a safe space to play \u2013 as a parent this is all you want for your child.\u201d<\/p>\n To donate to Soccer Aid for Unicef and support children around the world, visit socceraid.org.uk\/donate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coleen Rooney has said Unicef support for Ukrainian families has been a \u201clifeline\u201d that is \u201cchanging lives\u201d. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7654],"tags":[70663,17302,2000,299,12916,70664,770,693,29189,70665,70666,16,657,29188],"class_list":{"0":"post-169267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ukraine","8":"tag-childrens-investment-fund-foundation","9":"tag-coleen-rooney","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-humanitarian-aid","13":"tag-krakow","14":"tag-poland","15":"tag-showbiz","16":"tag-soccer-aid","17":"tag-soccer-aid-for-unicef","18":"tag-spilno-centre","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-ukraine","21":"tag-unicef"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114651358127905287","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"UK](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/NDY3SXNO7VILXGZKN4XTT4OF3E.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"It’s](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/BQNSSX2WAVOZTEXB4UMXH4YEBE.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Coleen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/YFMZQDLQBRP6HKOR3JFQBFV5DQ.jpg\")
Coleen Rooney UNICEF High Profile Supporter with children and workers of the SUN Centre during classes. (Jan Brykczy\u0144ski) <\/p>\n![\"Coleen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/5CMBMPZUG5IFHESOLG375EQCSA.jpg\")
Coleen Rooney UNICEF High Profile Supporter (right) with Joanna Morawiec Edu Director (center) and Remigiusz Kijak sensory teacher, with Murat Tater (boy in the center) during sensory therapy class. (Jan Brykczy\u0144ski ) <\/p>\n