Schools and churches in Reading have collected nearly five tonnes of food and supplies that will offer a vital lifeline to thousands of adults and children suffering from the horrors of war in Ukraine.
Reading School, The Abbey School, King’s Academy Prospect, St Mary’s School in Burghfield and churches including Caversham Heights Methodist Church, St Mary’s in Burghfield Common, and Trinity Church in Lower Earley have filled a convoy of six trucks and three trailers that left on Sunday for the Polish-Ukrainian border, with donations then being taken onwards to Kyiv and Kharkiv in Ukraine.
Ashley Robson, headmaster of Reading School in Erleigh Road, thanked the hundreds of families across Reading who responded to the school’s appeals in the previous weeks.
He added: “We would also like to ask for your prayers for those whose efforts over the next few days will see this load arriving in town and villages from Krakow to Kharkiv.
“In particular please think of those who are still sheltering underground, and for whom the current situation is becoming desperate.”
Mr Robson said donations of goods and funds had amounted to: 3.5 tonnes of fish, 2.5 tonnes of meat, 2 tonnes of baby food, 25 b,oxes of sanitary products, 300 sleeping bags, 300 can openers, and 1250 bags for life.
These are all higher-value foods which are “almost impossible” for people in Kyiv and Kharkiv to find, said Mr Robson, and which humanitarian aid volunteers in Ukraine had specifically requested.
He added that 75 students from Reading School as well as parents and staff had spent last Friday packing the almost five tonnes of goods, which had been stored in the grammar school’s large chapel.
Mr Robson said: “For those sheltering from hypersonic missiles, from cluster bombs and from barbaric and inhuman acts, your kindness will make a difference. Thanks to everyone who gave anything.”
Reading Borough Council’s mayor, Cllr Rachel Eden, has launched a financial appeal for refugees coming to Reading.
She is calling for readers to support the work of the Reading Ukrainian Community Centre with financial donations to help with the costs of sending aid to Ukraine and to prepare them for the arrival of Ukrainian refugees in Reading.
The money raised in the Mayoral Appeal will go directly to the Community Centre to enable it to support fellow Ukrainians in any way it can.
A secure webpage has been specially set up on the council’s website : http://www.reading.gov.uk/mayorsappeal
First Days Children’s Charity, based in Wokingham, has an appeal to help children arriving in the country.
It is collecting as-new items such as beds, baby and toddler equipment, safety equipment, toiletries, school uniforms, laptops and tablets for children to use at school, children’s toys and books, and clothes for children aged up to 13.
For more details, log on to: www.firstdays.net/ukraine-appeal
