Press Centre
Easington Labour Party Votes to Donate £500 to Supply Ukraine - 2/5/22
After an impassioned speech by Supply Ukraine founder, Charlie Hastings, the Easington Labour Party voted, at their local meeting, to donate £500 to the charity.
Grahame Morris, MP for Easington, who was in attendance, says, “The community response to the Ukraine Refugee effort has been overwhelming. From people housing refugees to donations and humanitarian aid to support families fleeing violence. We all want to play our part in supporting the Ukrainian people, and I am confident individuals and community groups will continue to provide support until peace and security are restored in Ukraine.”
During her speech Ms Hastings made reference to the plight of Ukrainian refugees and the suffering of those still living within a war zone. After she pointed out that it cost only £350 to fill a truck full of food in Poland and then distribute it to Ukraine, a private donor offered a further £200. Meaning this meeting resulted in two truckloads of supplies going to refugees.
Ms Hastings, says, “The work Supply Ukraine does, getting money to people on the ground in Poland and the Ukraine is of pivotal importance. It allows for elderly grandparents to receive much-needed medicine. Shelter for mothers traveling with small children. It’s why I’m so grateful for the Easington Labour Party and their members, for this very generous donation.”
At the meeting the Easington Labour Party discussed how, going forward, they could do more to help the charity with
fundraising. The possibility was suggested that Supply Ukraine might be invited to attend and raise donations at the Durham Miners’ Gala on July 9th, an event which attracts 200,000 visitors a year.
Contact – Press Secretary, Adam O’Connell – 0797 1091 260 / info@supplyukraine.org
Donation of Medical Supplies to Ukraine Leads to Mad 2400 km EV Dash - 26/4/22
A recent donation by Bristol Royal Infirmary resulted in a frantic dash to Lublin, Poland for Supply Ukraine founder, Paul England. Mr England, a Nottingham-native and international poker dealer, made the 1500-mile trip in a 41 hour, sleep deprived sprint - so that he wouldn’t be late for work.
Mr England, says, “I was contacted by an employee at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, Rupert Olden, on Thursday (21st April). He told me they had a generous amount of medical supplies to donate if someone could collect and deliver them to Ukraine. I knew that to be in Monte Carlo to deal for the PokerStars European Poker Tour on the 26th, I had to set off right away.”
The charity organiser stopped off briefly to pick up a large donation of sanitary products made by the staff, parents and children of Hillside Primary & Nursery School, Hucknall, organised by teacher Megan Robley.
Ms Robley, says, “Right from the start, I wanted to help out and give in any way I could. Knowing Paul had been out once before it gave me a point of contact to make sure our donations would get to the people who needed them most. I’m very pleased with the response from the staff, our students and their parents.”
He then headed straight to Bristol, where the remaining space in his Tesla was filled to bursting by staff at the Royal Infirmary.
From there, Mr England took the ferry to Calais. France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany faded from his windscreen as he kept up a steady clip, only stopping to charge his EV and snatch a few winks of fitful sleep.
Finally, exhausted, he met up with Polish contact Marcin Jablonski in the early hours of Sunday morning in Lodz – covering six countries in just two days. The pair travelled to Lublin to meet Marcin’s contacts; the local heroes who would make a much more perilous drive – taking the medical supplies into Lviv, Ukraine. Whilst in Lublin they delivered the sanitary products, donated by Hillside, to ‘Fundacja Zmieniamy Zycie’, a half-way house for women and children fleeing from the Russian invasion. Donations were also delivered to ‘Liliowa 5’, an emergency overnight shelter.
Mr England, says, “It’s been a long but very rewarding journey. I hope to inspire others to get involved, volunteer, donate, open up your heart and homes to others and to make the lives around us a little bit better. Please help in any way you can, as even the smallest thing could really benefit and change the life of someone whose world has been turned upside down.”
If you’d like to donate, please visit – supplyukraine.org
Contact – Press Secretary, Adam O’Connell – 0797 1091 260 / info@supplyukraine.org
New Charity, ‘Supply Ukraine’ Launched in Nottingham - 16/4/22
Supply Ukraine, a charity aimed at helping refugees on the Polish/Ukrainian border officially launched today. The organisation intends to use its connections with local Polish volunteers to ensure 100% of all donations are used to purchase much need supplies for those fleeing the Russian invasion.
Charlie Hastings, Founder of Supply Ukraine, says, “Thousands of refugees cross the Polish/Ukrainian border every day and while NGOs are doing important work, what we have seen, particularly in Przemysel, Warsaw and Medyka, is a lot of dedicated locals struggling to cope with the influx without much outside help. As such, we launched Supply Ukraine to support the incredible efforts of these local citizens and to ensure that people's donations can reach the front-line of the refugee crisis quickly and the money goes where it is needed most.".”
The charity states that 90% of all donations will be used rapidly to buy items such as food, sanitary products and sleeping bags. The remaining 10% is saved into a pot for purchasing larger more expensive items like defibrillators and generators.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has currently displaced over 10 million people with 2.5 million of them having fled across the Polish border. While Poland is doing a great deal for the refugees it was already starting to feel the strain in late March.
Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said in an interview. “We want to take everyone who needs help, but how many kids can we take into schools? How can we do everything we can so the health system doesn’t break down in our city?”
With a new Eastern offensive planned in Ukraine it will only be through outside help that Poland can keep on taking the lions’ share of refugees.
To donate please visit – supplyukraine.org
Contact – Press Secretary, Adam O’Connell – 0797 1091 260 / info@supplyukraine.org