Kim & Monica at the donation hub at St John’s
A lorry load of aid is due to set off to Ukraine from Keynsham in the coming week.
The fledgling charity Hope for Ukraine, which is based at Carmel City Church in Brislington, has donation hubs in and around Keynsham. Items donated are being taken to local haulage firm IJ McGill’s in Avon Mill Lane where they are being stored in a warehouse and spare trailer.
The charity is negotiating transport via an organisation called Mission & Belief and in the coming days the load will leave for Chernivtsi in the south of the war-torn county, where the charity has established links with a community leader.
Chair of trustees Steve Lewis said they are grateful for all donations which have included 265 ‘Sleep Pods’ worth around £9,000 from a Bristol company, and 2,000 first aid kits from a company based in Alveston.
Specific items are required and there is a full list here. They include bodywash, toothpaste and toothbrushes, flannels, wet wipes, formula milk, dummies, towels, blankets, washing detergent, warm clothes for babies and toddlers, packet soups, quick-cook noodles, dried pasta, rice, UHT milk and canned meat and fish. No adult clothes are needed apart from underwear.
The current Keynsham drop-off points are St John’s Church office on weekdays from 10am to noon; and Community at 67 in Queens Road on Saturdays from 10am to noon. There is another hub at Lime Landscaping at Jarretts Garden Centre at Willsbridge from 10am to 2pm on Mondays and Fridays.
Originally published in The Week In, April 2022. Reproduced by kind permission