Hastings campaign to help Ukrainian refugees receives ‘incredible and overwhelming’ support

Since the war broke out last Thursday (February 24), residents have stepped up to donate essential items for those caught up in the conflict.

A Facebook group has been set up, which already has more than 800 members as of today (Friday, March 4).

Sasha Hobday, who is the administrator for the group, known as Hastings Aid for Ukrainian Refugees, said she had been ‘inundated’ with offers of donations since her original post on the Hastings Give & Takery Facebook page went up asking if anyone could help with donations for Ukrainian refugees.

However, it became almost immediately apparent that a separate Facebook page needed to be set up.

The first lorry came down from London yesterday (March 3) to collect all of the donations so far which will soon be heading to Poland, where hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have headed to.

She said: “It’s been incredible and overwhelming. It all started out with a Polish lady, Anna, a friend of a friend, asking for donations for the Ukrainians. And I just thought, why not put out an appeal on the Hastings Give & Takery site? That is when Anna and I began to liaise and realise how very generous and big this was becoming.”

She said earlier in the week that she had received more than 500 messages within a 48-hour period.

She said: “The donations have been incredible. A car from Northiam turned up on Tuesday night (March 1) with a huge load.”

Sasha added that she has set up a crowdfunding page on crowdfunder.co.uk, under the name Hastings Aid for Ukrainian Refugees.

She said: “The generosity of the community makes the whole team feel very emotional when they see so many people come and bring large bags of donations. One lady brought a bag of teddies, which were tagged with personalised messages to the Ukrainian children.”

She said the White Eagle Club in London and the Polish Red Cross have been ‘wonderful’ in supporting the fundraising drive and humanitarian effort.

Anyone wishing to donate can find full details about goods needed, drop-off points and so on by searching for the Facebook group, Hastings Aid for Ukrainian Refugees.

Visit also www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hastings-aid-for-ukrainian-refugees.

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