WHAT started out as a small village coffee morning to raise cash for Ukrainian refugees has scaled up to a full blown community effort that has filled an entire church with much-needed items.
The pews of St Mary’s Church, in Piercebridge, were packed last week with food, medical supplies, baby products and toiletries, which were then driven to Poland by resident Mark Rumble at the weekend.
Liz Hodgson, from Piercebridge Farm Shop, said the coffee morning at the church two weeks previously had raised £500 for the cause, despite there being only about 40 houses in the village.
She added: “It was on the back of that someone had
the idea [to do the collection].”
At about the same time Mr Rumble was considering doing something.
He said: “I have friends in Ukraine and saw what was happening and wanted to help out.”
He developed a friendship with two young women and their teacher when his family hosted them as part of the Children of Chernobyl scheme while living in Lincolnshire.
It was his partner, Lucy Needham, who brought the two groups together.
Suppliers for the farm shop were contacted and an appeal launched on social media.
An Amazon wishlist for medical supplies was also set up and each day boxes of valuable medicines and first aid materials were delivered, as people sacrificed birthday vouchers to help out.
Along with a response from businesses such as Sam Turners, Mole Valley, S&A Fabrications, The Paddock and Castle Vets, individuals also made contributions with cash being sent from London, Australia and America.
Broom House Farm Shop, in Burnhope, also served as a collection point and forwarded their items to the Piercebridge effort.
Within a week of the appeal being launched, St Mary’s Church was packed with donations, all of which were put into a van.
Mr Rumble said: “I have a long-based van – it is the biggest I can hire without going into lorry territory. It is going to take about a week – it is two days either way.”
Mr Rumble also hopes to restock in Europe and make additional deliveries to refugees, thus saving on having to return and take on additional ferry costs.
An avid aviation fan, Mr Rumble also sold a table he had made from aircraft parts, which raised £900 for the cause. The table, which attracted the attention of astronaut Tim Peake on social media, now has a new home in France. Of the mammoth effort, Mrs Hodgson said: “It is a privilege. It has been very humbling what people have contributed – a grandmother and her mother pooled their pensions to give money. What has come in here in a week is overwhelming.”
