Stories of support for Ukraine from Knaresborough, Northallerton, York, Barton Upon-Humber, Howden, Louth, Scunthorpe, Normanton, Pontefract, Calverley, Halifax Calder and Keighley.
Knaresborough Rotary report on Facebook: As of Monday 21 March 2022, the total raised from our bucket collection plus member's donations is £1,574. This is being added to the over £36,000 raised by Rotary in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire so far with more to come in from other collections. Thank you to all for your support. The Rotary Club of Knaresborough | Facebook
You know you're a Knaresborian when....... | Facebook
Northallerton Rotary clubs report: The generosity of the British people was in full evidence on market day in Northallerton, where a street and supermarket collection was held to help the people of Ukraine. Northallerton and Northallerton Mowbray Rotary Clubs joined forces to run a bric-a-brac stall and a number of collection points in the Town. Many locals and visitors donated willingly and expressed their empathy for the plight of those devastated by war and forced from their homes by the destruction.
As they donated, many said how affected they had been by the stories of human suffering. One said "They are people just like us, living a normal life one day, but then suddenly having to uproot their families and way of life as their homes are destroyed. It is shocking that this can happen in the 21st century."
Organiser Lyn Proud of the Rotary Club of Northallerton said "We are thrilled to have raised over £3,300 during the day to support people who are experiencing such a crisis at the moment. Our two clubs are part of a coordinated fundraising effort across Rotary in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and the full total raised will be sent directly to those in most need of help. Thank you so much to all who donated."
York Rotary report on their website: All donations made through this site to the Rotary Club of York Charity Fund will be channelled through Rotary District 1040 in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire initially, and through Rotary Clubs in Ukraine and adjacent countries such as Slovakia, so the aid reaches those in need in these areas directly and without any administrative expenses, except PayPal fees where not covered by the donor.
Malton and Norton Rotary report on Facebook: Some more wonderful news on how your donations are changing the world and making it, once again, a place full of smile and laughter.
Rotary Club Bartoszyce - Lidzbark Warmiński | Facebook
Niepubliczna Szkoła Podstawowa w Krekolach | Facebook
Szkoła Podstawowa im. Janusza Korczaka w Krawczykach
Barton Upon-Humber Rotary raised £2695.78 for the people of Ukraine with two street collections in the small town. “We have never had such a good collection, with some people drawing money from the cash machine and putting it in the buckets, people were so generous” said club president Graham Griffiths. “One collection was held on a Saturday with the other on the following Friday to catch different groups of shoppers. People wanted to be able to donate and many thanked us for doing the collection”.
One Barton club member bought bulk sunflower seeds, the national flower of Ukraine, and produced envelopes of seeds which were sold for £1. The club is arranging to plant some of the seeds in the parks to show support to Ukraine.
Howden Rotary raises £2,500 for Ukrainian refugees.
The Rotary Club of Howden, in support of Ukraine, undertook street collections on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 March 2022 in Howden to raise money to assist the victims of the war in Ukraine that has forced over two and a half million people to leave the country.
“We were delighted with the support and generosity of the people of Howden, over the two days we collected £1,989.87” advises Howden Rotary Club President Maureen Bilsbrough “when we add the on-line donations via our GoFundMe page, Gift Aid thereon and other pledges we will have raised £2,500”
“As one of the world's largest humanitarian organisations, Rotary has peace as the cornerstone of its global mission. Our Club's local District has a long-standing historical connection with Ukraine and has asked us to raise funds in support of the Ukrainian Refugee effort, hence last week’s collection” continued Maureen “all the money raised will be sent directly to Rotary Clubs in and around Ukraine who know where the need is greatest, there will be no expenses deducted”
Louth Rotary report: The Rotary Club of Louth raised much-needed funds for the Rotary Ukraine appeal by running a raffle at their Saturday market. Due to the generosity of the Louth community, we have been able to send £1,000 to the appeal. Such generosity was heart-warming, as were the many comments from the public that they knew and trusted Rotary and its reach as an international organisation.
Scunthorpe Rotary report on Facebook: We are one of many Rotary Clubs across the UK that have acted quickly to support our friends in Ukraine. Here’s a summary of what we’ve raised so far and how the money will be used.
Our collections at Silica Lodge Garden Centre and Tesco, Gallagher Park raised over £1,500 including a collection at our Charter lunch, and an allocation from our Benevolent Fund we have raised over £2,500. This is being combined with the funds raised by other Clubs in the Rotary Yorkshire Lincolnshire District. At the last count this was in excess of £36,000.
Based on the information provided through the Rotary International network, the District has agreed to transfer the money collected so far to the Rotary Clubs of Kosice (Rotary Klub Košice and Rotary Klub Košice Classic) in Eastern Slovakia which is close to the Ukrainian border and actively supporting refugees.
“200,000 refugees entered Slovakia during 20 days. Most of them got temporary accommodation around Kosice city where they have created a Rotary Humanitarian Hub. Every day, 24/7 volunteers help to:
- drive refugees from the border to the closest cities
- provide them with free meals and accommodation
- work as interpreters
- escort people to the doctors and authorities
- process humanitarian aids on the vans, trucks and railway wagons
- coordinate traffic of humanitarian convoys from Western countries.”
“The refugees need food, medicines, hygienic items, optic glasses, and pocket money. The Rotary Clubs of Kosice also use local donations to provide dozens of volunteers with fuel and meals every day.
In cooperation with the Rotary Clubs of Uzhgorod and Uzghorod-Skala, the Rotary Clubs of Kosice organise the supply of necessary items from Slovakia to Ukraine via green corridors. They have a club board set up to decide where the money is most needed and are liaising with other clubs in Hungary and Slovakia. Locally they are able to buy what is needed and distribute quickly to refugees arriving in the EU and also in Uzhgorod.”
Representative members from the Rotary Clubs of Kosice
Normanton Rotary report though their Facebook page: Rotary & Inner Wheel clubs collected at J32 shopping outlet on Sunday, thanks to Denis Jones President of the club, and wife Pauline, President of Inner Wheel, plus Rotarians Ian and Jenny James, Bob Burgess, Peter Boulton and Mark Allan. Together with the collection at Carlton Lane, Castleford we have raised £2565 for our Ukraine appeal.
Pontefract Rotary report on Facebook: The Rotary club of Pontefract would like to thank the generosity of everyone who contributed to our collection at Junction 32 and Pontefract town centre. A special thanks also goes out to fellow Rotarians, Inner wheel and friends who contributed.
We are pleased to say we raised a total of £1,931.85 for our Ukraine collection. Thank you.
The Rotary Club of Calverley in Leeds were happy to help Bradford City Community Football Association and House of Wine:
Stephen Gilroy who has House of Wines in Springfield Business Centre in Farsley along with Adam Thirsk who coaches Stephen’s son Alfie’s football team are setting off on Thursday afternoon to drive to Dover then through Europe to deliver goods to Romania for the refugee support this weekend. They expect to arrive there on Saturday then stay overnight before embarking back on the long journey home.
They have had great response in goods, although, they were in desperate need of funds for fuel. The Rotary Club of Calverley have stepped in and promised a donation of £500 to cover the fuel. Stephen’s wife Laura is a member of the club and we wanted to support.
They will be delivering goods on behalf of Save a Life International which is a group of people passionate about helping women in crisis with a focus on Ukraine and other eastern European countries.
Halifax Calder Rotary organised a collection of Aid for Ukraine in the Woolshops Shopping Centre. It was an amazing and humbling experience. The generosity of the community was awesome. We collected many thousands of items and had over £3600.00 in the bucket at the end of the day. Members of the public wanted to help and many just disappeared into town centre shops and reappeared with carrier bags full of aid.
We have joined forces with local Ukrainians who have organised a mass collection with van loads arriving from Leeds, Keighley, Huddersfield, and surrounding areas. Members supported the boxing and labelling ready for customs clearance and transit to Poland. One lorry went out on the 3 March 2022 and a second left on 10 March with further trips in the pipeline.
Keighley Rotary working in partnership with The Good Shepherd Centre on Facebook report: Our lorry has arrived in the Opolszczyzna district in Poland together with Calendar News TV.
Every day they have new Ukrainian refugees to support. Everything that was donated will be distributed across different groups in the district. Thank you again for all your support.
Thank you to Aleksandra Marcinkowska for your help in Poland. Special thanks goes to LEO Group in Halifax particularly to Danny Savrij for funding this transport, Ewelina for helping us with all paper work and to Nick Lajszczuk for arranging it. This wouldn't be possible without your kind support.
The Good Shepherd Centre - Friendship, Support, Integracja i Wsparcie | Facebook