If you are donating stuff for Ukraine's refugees...

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Not really sure where to put this, but...

If you wish to do something, there are many wonderful people preparing to set off for the Ukrainian border with supplies for refugees. There's nothing much more that anyone here can do short of taking up arms which may make things worse.

If you wish to help Google up your local hero and you'll find them easy enough, many seem to be attached to local football clubs, (Guildford City is organising my local one). They will tell you what they want in terms of food etc.

When you give clothes/blankets please can you make sure that every single item is:

In tip-top condition
Is warm / waterproof
Is stylish, no one wants to look like a dork, if you wouldn't want to wear it neither will they.

A big ballache for refugee charities is sifting through inappropriate donations and chucking them away. Two or three quality items are so much better than 20 bits of old crap.

And don't forget colouring books, pens, pencils and small games for the kids.

Boxed items are better than bags, they stack better in vans and don't fall about and bust open.

 

[stdP]

If anyone needs any pointers, my local Polish deli - Piast on Westow Street on the crystal palace triangle - is organising collections for the refugees and has specified the following items as the most urgent:

Personal hygiene products
Toothpaste,
toothbrush
Wet wipes
Antibacterial fluids,
Disposable and reusable masks
Batteries of various sizes,
candles,
flashlights.
From food: All kinds of instant food (i.e. instant soups to be poured with boiling water, etc.)
Breakfast cereals
Energy bars
Dried fruits
Pasta
Instant groats (grain)

Their relief effort is being co-ordinated by the Lewisham Polish Centre. I don't do facebook but they had this to say on their website (PDF):

We are overwhelmed by your response to our call to help people of Ukraine. LPC House has seen action as never before –
mountains of donations being sorted and packed by volunteers choosing to spend their weekend helping others. Please do not be
put off if your calls, emails and offers of help are not answered straight away. We prefer action. The first transport has already
been sent, but it seems that your generosity will require further transfers. Please do follow our Facebook page as it is updated
more frequently.
We are getting donations and messages from a whole spectrum of people – British, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian. Help does not
have nationality – just a human face. People act from their hearts, just to help others in need. They oppose this invasion, this war -
staged by a delusioned dictator and his cronies, not by the Russian nation whose people are happy to coexist with their Ukrainian
neighbours. We receive messages from our Russian friends of being ashamed of that war staged by their state – it is not in their
name, not with their assent.
We witness the horrors of war from the first raw seat. We see innocent people, children displaced from their homes, leaving all
their belongings at a moment’s notice. Forced to run for their lives leaving their loved ones to fight for their country. We support
Ukraine wholeheartedly, knowing that if Putin is not stopped – Poland could be next.
We are grateful for your help. Every single item donated by you is going to help Ukrainian people fleeing the war. Moreover, it
spells hope and solidarity – the free world is not going to watch the invasion idly – we will do whatever we can to help Ukraine
and its people. There is no Europe without a free and independent Ukraine.

 

[frogwoman]

A friend of mine in Moldova who owns a bar has turned it into a refugee donation centre.

 

[SpookyFrank]

When you give clothes/blankets please can you make sure that every single item is:

In tip-top condition
Is warm / waterproof
Is stylish, no one wants to look like a dork, if you wouldn't want to wear it neither will they.

A big ballache for refugee charities is sifting through inappropriate donations and chucking them away. Two or three quality items are so much better than 20 bits of old crap.

And don't forget colouring books, pens, pencils and small games for the kids.

Boxed items are better than bags, they stack better in vans and don't fall about and bust open.

Seconding all this stuff. Even better is if you can make up a pack for someone, eg two sets of clothes for a medium-sized bloke. Then label it, in as many languages as you can deal with.

E2a: When I get a second I'll try and knock up some template labels in Polish and Russian.

 

[spitfire]

Not really sure where to put this, but...

If you wish to do something, there are many wonderful people preparing to set off for the Ukrainian border with supplies for refugees. There's nothing much more that anyone here can do short of taking up arms which may make things worse.

If you wish to help Google up your local hero and you'll find them easy enough, many seem to be attached to local football clubs, (Guildford City is organising my local one). They will tell you what they want in terms of food etc.

When you give clothes/blankets please can you make sure that every single item is:

In tip-top condition
Is warm / waterproof
Is stylish, no one wants to look like a dork, if you wouldn't want to wear it neither will they.

A big ballache for refugee charities is sifting through inappropriate donations and chucking them away. Two or three quality items are so much better than 20 bits of old crap.

And don't forget colouring books, pens, pencils and small games for the kids.

Boxed items are better than bags, they stack better in vans and don't fall about and bust open.

Seen various posts about not sending food as new regs make getting it through customs difficult/impossible.



(I'm really not making some ridiculous point about Brexit so please no one take it that way.)

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Seen various posts about not sending food as new regs make getting it through customs difficult/impossible.



(I'm really not making some ridiculous point about Brexit so please no one take it that way.)

No meat basically. Rice, pasta etc is good.

 

[spitfire]

No meat basically. Rice, pasta etc is good.

Cool.

 

[bluescreen]

I hope anyone planning to make one of these trips has all the right post-Brexit paperwork. Some mercy missions have already fallen foul of Customs at Dover.


And then there are all the different driver permits and insurance cover for various countries needed post-Brexit.

(To say nothing of making sure what they are taking is what's been asked for and not shed clearance.)

I mention this in some despair as someone in our village is trying to arrange a mercy dash without apparently having a clue that it won't be the same as taking pre-Brexit relief to Calais. And people are offering her any old stuff to take.

ETA I see ciaran has updated now - sensible advice quoted in spitfire's post.

 

[frogwoman]

Yeah she needs to know it's not going to be the same thing at all.

 

[CNT36]

If you're in Cornwall the local online rag has some info on various drop offs. Cornwall opens its heart to help the people of Ukraine

Kilbirnie hotel Newquay are collecting between 9am and 3pm today and tomorrow.

 

[Guineveretoo]

If anyone is wanting to donate money, this website (yes, I know it is Sky News and I hate Sky as well, but it has a useful list, so I am going to let them off this time).

I have just donated to the Red Cross and to Global Giving

Ukraine invasion: How you can support people caught up in conflict and those trying to flee

The UN says at least 368,000 refugees have fled Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the next 24 hours will be "crucial" for the country.

news.sky.com

 

[spitfire]

I donated cash to this one:

Donate to Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal, organized by Anna Dezyk

Millions of people in Ukraine are facing an imminent humanitarian crisis. They are in urgen… Anna Dezyk needs your support for Help Ukraine Emergency Appeal

www.gofundme.com

 

[platinumsage]

If anyone is wanting to donate money, this website (yes, I know it is Sky News and I hate Sky as well, but it has a useful list, so I am going to let them off this time).

I have just donated to the Red Cross and to Global Giving

Ukraine invasion: How you can support people caught up in conflict and those trying to flee

The UN says at least 368,000 refugees have fled Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the next 24 hours will be "crucial" for the country.

news.sky.com

No need to hate Sky News any more, it’s now wholly owned by Comcast and has nothing to do with Murdoch. Its coverage of political events has often been better than that of BBC News.

 

[spitfire]

 

[sparkybird]

What an amazing response from everyone donating stuff for Ukraine. I've just seen a video of my local collection point, which has been heavily promoted on SM and it's absolutely rammed with bags and bags of clothes.
I'm a bit worried that, like Grenfell, so much stuff will just get dumped as it's unusable/too much. Plus of course it has to get there....
Do you think it's better now to donate money?
PS I do understand the need for people to help and often clothes are easier to donate than hard cash.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Do you think it's better now to donate money?

Yes, if you can.

 

[SpookyFrank]

More advice: do not just rent a van, fill it with stuff and head over to Poland on your one. Even before brexit, organising this sort of thing was a lot of work. You need contacts in the place you're going to. You need a plan. There will be people organising already that you can link up with, and offer whatever time or resources you have.

There may not be huge numbers of Ukrainian people needing clothes or other basics right now, particularly if the world and his mum is already pitching in to help, but there is a huge, long-term, slow-burn crisis with refugees in Europe to which this new Russian shitshow is just another factor. If you can get useful stuff to the right people it will definitely do some good for someone. If there's nothing much you can do until a month or six months from now, don't think it won't be worth doing. It's always worth doing, and there is always a need.

 

[Chz]

If you need an incentive to donate, Dark Arts Coffee are selling a special "Russian warship go fuck yourself" blend of coffee in 250g bags. You can choose how much to pay for it (min £10), and all proceeds (not just profits) will be donated to Ukrainian refugees.

RUSSIAN WARSHIP GO FUCK YOURSELF - Single Origin Coffee - FUNDRAISER

All of the proceeds (not profit, 100% of the sale) will be donated to help those fleeing the war in Ukraine. You can choose to pay between £10, £20, £50 and £100 and will receive in return a 250g box of delicious single-origin, speciality grade coffee. All of the coffees we will be fulfilling...

www.darkartscoffee.co.uk

(They play around with their "Dark Arts" image, but every contact I've had with them suggests to me they're a bunch of hippies)

 

[friedaweed]

If you need an incentive to donate, Dark Arts Coffee are selling a special "Russian warship go fuck yourself" blend of coffee in 250g bags. You can choose how much to pay for it (min £10), and all proceeds (not just profits) will be donated to Ukrainian refugees.

RUSSIAN WARSHIP GO FUCK YOURSELF - Single Origin Coffee - FUNDRAISER

All of the proceeds (not profit, 100% of the sale) will be donated to help those fleeing the war in Ukraine. You can choose to pay between £10, £20, £50 and £100 and will receive in return a 250g box of delicious single-origin, speciality grade coffee. All of the coffees we will be fulfilling...

www.darkartscoffee.co.uk

(They play around with their "Dark Arts" image, but every contact I've had with them suggests to me they're a bunch of hippies)

Sold out.

 

[Elpenor]

If you need an incentive to donate, Dark Arts Coffee are selling a special "Russian warship go fuck yourself" blend of coffee in 250g bags. You can choose how much to pay for it (min £10), and all proceeds (not just profits) will be donated to Ukrainian refugees.

RUSSIAN WARSHIP GO FUCK YOURSELF - Single Origin Coffee - FUNDRAISER

All of the proceeds (not profit, 100% of the sale) will be donated to help those fleeing the war in Ukraine. You can choose to pay between £10, £20, £50 and £100 and will receive in return a 250g box of delicious single-origin, speciality grade coffee. All of the coffees we will be fulfilling...

www.darkartscoffee.co.uk

(They play around with their "Dark Arts" image, but every contact I've had with them suggests to me they're a bunch of hippies)

Good to see “proceeds” rather than profit being donated.

 

[A380]

Have just sent cash to the UNHCR Ukraine appeal. I suppose thats because I am a patsy for the NWO.

 

[spitfire]

Not for refugees but if any of you ex military types (or your friends, might be worth a share) have any gear that could be put to use then these people are taking it to the border. Contact them through the website.

Home | WW2 Polish Fighter Pilots | Łaguna's Spitfire Legacy

We aim to tell the story of Piotr Łaguna and the 18,000 WW2 Polish Fighter Pilots, their crews and many other RAF pilots named 'The Few' by Winston Churchill

lagunasspitfirelegacy.org

 

[MickiQ]

'Go Fuck Yourself' would appear to have become the Ukrainian battlecry.
I have (sadly) no surplus military gear to donate and we recently had a clear out of blankets, clothes etc which went to a mate of Mrs Q who distributed to them to our local Afghan Refugees, Youngest Q quipped that having fled Kabul subjecting them to her father's fashion sense was adding insult to injury.
However I have just donated cash to spitfire's link and the Red Cross, this means that when Youngest checks in again on Sunday I will be able to say to her "Look Your Father is helping as well, it's not just you and your mates marching"
Admittedly the Ukranians would probably prefer her mother's suggestion of the RAF/USAF bombing the fuck out of the Russian Army but that also alas I cannot arrange.

 

[moomoo]

Personally I think it’s better to donate money to the Red Cross. The needs of refugees vary daily and much of the stuff being donated will end up in landfill. Plus I have evidence that the strorage facilities on the Polish border are already close to capacity.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Have donated to the Red Cross.

 

[A380]

Personally I think it’s better to donate money to the Red Cross. The needs of refugees vary daily and much of the stuff being donated will end up in landfill. Plus I have evidence that the strorage facilities on the Polish border are already close to capacity.

Definitely. In most of these things cash is always best.

 

[ChrisD]

DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

People in Ukraine are fleeing their homes to escape conflict. They need food, water, shelter and healthcare. Donate now.

donation.dec.org.uk

I'm retiring on mostly state pension this year...so keen to get gift aid added and have govt match it.

(Out of interest what happens in future if I sign gift aid forms but hardly paying any tax?)

 

[moomoo]

.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

of interest what happens in future if I sign gift aid forms but hardly paying any tax?)

if you end up paying no tax, or less tax than your gift aid will add up to, you're supposed to advise any charities (if you have signed an open ended gift aid and are still donating) and they will cancel it.

the tax person does carry out some checking with charities, i don't know quite how comprehensive this is.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

People in Ukraine are fleeing their homes to escape conflict. They need food, water, shelter and healthcare. Donate now.

donation.dec.org.uk

I'm retiring on mostly state pension this year...so keen to get gift aid added and have govt match it.

(Out of interest what happens in future if I sign gift aid forms but hardly paying any tax?)

if you end up paying no tax, or less tax than your gift aid will add up to, you're supposed to advise any charities (if you have signed an open ended gift aid and are still donating) and they will cancel it.

the tax person does carry out some checking with charities, i don't know quite how comprehensive this is.

No one checks.

Just don't click it if you have a company that is making a donation, otherwise go right ahead.