A Wembley-based community company has raised more than £20,000, shipping over 100 medical kits and over 150 tactical gear packages to Ukraine since February.
Alfie Roberts, 21, founded Supplies for Ukraine CIC alongside his Ukrainian friend Viktoriia Honcharuk earlier this year.
The not-for-profit organisation operates out of Wembley, where Alfie lives, and delivers supplies directly to Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.
Alfie said: “Since setting this up we’ve sent hundreds of medical kits, tactical gear packages and protective equipment like vests, ballistic plates, helmets boots, and trousers.
“We’ve managed to have an impact, which I’m really proud to say, on hundreds of lives in Ukraine, be it civilian lives, medics, volunteers or soldiers, indirectly and directly through what we’ve managed to send over.”
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Viktoriia was completing her degree in America and since she was unable to go home, she started a fundraiser to buy medical and tactical supplies.
Having followed her effort, Alfie offered to set up a sister fundraiser in the UK.
He said: “I’ve always been passionate about standing up to injustice. I’ve never been someone to just sit there and watch as something is happening, especially if I feel like there is something I can do.”
With the money raised the company delivers the supplies via a variety of volunteer networks. Alfie frequently flies parcels to Poland himself and Viktoriia recently spent six weeks in Ukraine delivering supplies.
Both co-founders work full-time, Alfie in marketing and Viktoriia in finance, but dedicate their free time to the initiative, which is now a registered Community Interest Company (CIC), meaning any excess money goes back into the company to further the cause.
“I feel so passionate about helping others. I might not be Ukrainian, I might not have these personal connections to the country that Viktoriia does, but I think we’re all in the same boat here across the world,” Alfie said.
“It’s not just a Ukrainian issue, it’s an issue for everyone. Not just Eastern Europe, not just Europe but literally everyone is going to feel a knock-on impact down the line from this conflict.”
To donate, visit www.suppliesforukraine.com
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