"Hanukkah and St Nicholas’ Day nearly coincided this year; they were only one day apart. We didn’t make much of a fuss with Hanukkah, merely exchanging a few small gifts and lighting the candles. Since candles are in short supply, we lit them for only ten minutes, but as long as we sing the song, that doesn’t matter. Mr van Daan made a menorah out of wood, so that was taken care of too"

Anne Frank's Diary, Monday 7th December 1942

A SEASONAL MESSAGE FROM OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE

The Hanukkah symbol of light, and the peace and goodwill of Christmas, feel to me particularly resonant this year.  Wars continue in the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere, while antisemitism and Islamophobia persist at horrifying levels here in the UK.

I find hope above all in the young people who come through the Anne Frank Trust programmes, passionate about remembering the horrors of the Holocaust and building a future free from all forms of hatred.

Whether or not you are marking the festivals of the season, all of us here at the Trust wish you peace and prosperity, and we are truly grateful for all your support during 2023.

Warm wishes, Tim

ANNUAL LUNCH 2024

Please join us on 18 January 2024 to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and raise funds for our vital educational work.

The Lunch will be hosted by journalist Jo Coburn, with a poignant candle lighting ceremony, and include the premiere of new short film: Anne Frank Young Ambassadors share their stories.

We are honoured to have Sir Michael Morpurgo, one of Britain's most loved children's authors, joining us as our guest speaker.  

Our honoured candlelighters this year include Holocaust Survivor Eve Kugler BEM and  Eric Murangwa Eugene MBE, survivor of the Rwandan genocide

Tickets are available to purchase online at https://www.annefrank.org.uk/Event/annual-lunch-2024

THE BIG GIVE 2023

Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful supporters, we reached and exceeded our Big Give target.

In securing over £100,000, we have raised more than ever before in a Big Give appeal. It shows both the commitment of our supporters and the need for our work at a time of rising hate.

This funding will help us bring our highly effective and impactful anti-prejudice  programmes  to more young people in 2024.  At a time when antisemitism and Islamophobia are surging, the need to reduce discrimination is more urgent than ever.

We are incredibly grateful to our match funders who made this possible - our long-term supporters, Bim and Pardeep Sandhu and our Big Give Champion funders, The Childhood Trust.  Thank you to everyone who so kindly donated, shared the campaign or sent messages of encouragement. This would not have been possible without you.  

OUR REACH IN 2023

This year, for the first time, our work has reached well over 100,000 young people - the highest ever number in the charity's history. We are proud of this achievement, particularly during these difficult times where the impact of our work is needed more than ever.  

In 2023, we worked with 117,392 young people

We delivered our programmes in 225 schools, creating 4,427 peer educators, who have reached 38,651 other young people.  

We have delivered workshops to 15,904 young people.  

We have grown our Ambassdor numbers to 161

Our online events have been accessed by 58,249 young people and attended by 827 schools

NEW COHORT OF ANNE FRANK AMBASSADORS

Nearly 50 young people applied to become Anne Frank Ambassador this year, all of whom are peer educators who have completed one of our core two-day programmes, learning about the life of Anne Frank, the Holocaust and challenging all forms of prejudice.  

We were all hugely impressed and moved by the standard of the applications. The students' passion and commitment to challenge antisemitism and all forms of prejudice was very clear.  30 applications were successful, growing our cohort of active Ambassadors to 160. 

One of the new Ambassadors, Noah Bell, from Pitlochry High School, Scotland said: “I would like to become an Anne Frank ambassador because I am interested in learning about Anne Frank, prejudice, and the holocaust... I feel very strongly about the issue of discrimination and equal rights of people no matter what their beliefs or nationality are.” 

 Aliannah Atkins, of St Michael's, Catholic Grammar, London said:
“I understand that antisemitism, prejudice and racism are not a joke: being a person of colour I too understand how it feels... we can stop this by educating people and waking them up to reality."

Maia Jagodzinska, also a St Michael's student, created a brilliant video telling the story of Anne’s life and the others in hiding with her in the Secret Annexe.  

“In today’s society, many innocent people are marginalised because of who they are (gender, religion, race, etc.) ... there should be equality everywhere, no matter what sexuality or race anybody is, but if they are still human.”