Chorley and district support for ukraine

I’ve had the huge privilege of documenting the hard work of volunteers at Chorley & District Support for Ukraine over the last few days. It’s a personal project working in a volunteer capacity.

I’ve followed the community donations as they’ve moved from Mini Market U Miska (including a visit from Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, to St Laurence's Church, over to the storage unit provided by Chorley Council, and then out of the door for transportation. Led by local historian Stuart Clewlow, the team have been busy at the unit sorting, collecting and palletising donations made by the community, prioritising medical and personal care items which have been urgently requested. The group have sent items through the Polish community, working with the Polish Consulate; via private voluntary convoys to Slovakia; and have predominantly fed into the International Aid effort to get the right things through at the right time with the right paperwork. The best way to help now is by donating to the DEC, British Red Cross, International Aid Trust, or by volunteering to help pack and sort remaining items at the unit.

Stuart Clewlow who is coordinating the approach described what’s been happening on the ground:

“Chorley & District mobilised during the week and through the weekend to show its support to the Ukrainian refugees currently fleeing their homes following the Russian invasion.

Residents all across the Borough began to consider ways to help and that included gathering donations and setting up collection points at shops, schools, community organisations, vets, churches and so many more. Within Chorley’s Polish Community efforts were made by Beata Malczak and the Buras family of Chorley Mini Market U Miska. Across the Borough, efforts were coordinated to help spread news quickly and effectively. It became apparent that the people of Chorley & District were going to donate on a large scale. As the Facebook group developed into more of a focal point for coordinating collections and deliveries, it was obvious that we were heading towards a problem with regards to getting the donations to where they needed to be.

Help was on hand in that Father Neil Kelley of St. Laurence’s Church in Chorley, who had already established his own donation collection point, was able to mobilise volunteers from his congregation and open up the Church to receive donations. Meanwhile, Beata and the Buras family organised donations that were being taken to the shop. In the background, talks were being held with Chorley Council and thankfully, on Saturday 5th March, a unit was provided for the Chorley & District Support for Ukraine group.

I am extremely grateful to Cllr Bradley and Gary Hall and his staff at Chorley Council for making the necessary arrangements for us to have a unit at the Market Walk extension. St Laurence’s Church saved the day allowing us to store so many donations there, as well as at Mini Market U Miska, but we hit a crisis point on Friday when so many donations were coming in from across the Borough and beyond. Over the weekend, the unit was opened up and in two days nearly 100 volunteer drivers and handlers ferried goods and donations from various collection points into the one new storage facility ready for processing. From there, the boxes and bags were split into various categories before being palletised ready for the next stage of transportation. The public response has been overwhelming. We were swamped by donations but fortunately an army of volunteers responded to the call and we have really made progress. I don’t think there has been this scale of public response to a crisis since World War Two. Volunteers came from near and far and it was great to see members from all walks of life work together for the good of others. We can’t influence the military aspects of this war, but we can hopefully make a difference to those affected by it.” (Stuart Clewlow)

You can follow the group on Facebook for updates on opening time, items needed and to find out more how to offer help and support: Chorley & District Support for Ukraine.