Ukrainian Appeal Update
Back on Sunday 26th Feb we heard first hand from a valued part of our Bracknell site, the impact and devastation being caused in Ukraine by the war. Marta is Ukrainian with family & friends there & we stood alongside her in prayer but there was a sense for many of us that we wanted to do more to ease the pain & suffering of the people of Ukraine & show our love & solidarity for them practically.
The following Monday, following conversations with Marta & her links to a church in Western Ukraine it became very clear of some immediate needs that we could assist with practically & so our first initiative in providing help to Ukraine was launched with our Sleeping Bag Appeal.
Over the course of the next few days sleeping bags arrived by the dozen and in the space of just a few days we had collected over 1300 sleeping bags!
An amazing team of volunteers gave their time as each bag was checked, sorted, weighed, documented & boxed up. Many of you took the time to write a word of encouragement which were popped in with the sleeping bags together with a prayer in Ukrainian.
We received amazing corporate donations of nappies, female sanitary items, blankets & medical items. God was so visible in all the moments throughout this project, from providing sleeping bags & other items, arranging connections with companies who gave us discounts & donations, right down to providing the right people at the right times who knew just how to shrink wrap pallets!
Craig Atkins, a member of our Bracknell community, arranged all the logistics in getting the shipment to its destination & dealt with the mammoth task of ensuring it had the correct customs clearance! We even had to organise a bigger lorry to cope with the shipment!
Take a look at the film we produced telling the story of this incredible sleeping bag appeal quick turnaround! (you’ll need to click through to the blog page to watch)
We are pleased to let you know that our shipment arrived last week & the sleeping bags are now being distributed across the area to those in need.
We wanted to share with you the story of this journey in pictures & what Katia (our contact at Assembly of God Church in Lutsk) has to say to us as a community
This concludes part 1 of our support to Ukraine but this is not where it ends. We as a church will continue providing ongoing support in the following key areas:
1. In Ukraine - partnering with our church contacts and individuals carrying out relief work on the ground within Ukraine
2. On the borders - partnering with churches and other organisations in Europe caring for the refugees fleeing the country.
3. In the UK - we will look to play our part in hosting refugees being welcomed to the UK
We have created a dedicated webpage which provides more information on all of this & how you can get involved. For more info follow this link
Finally I would like to say an enormous thank you to every one of you who has contributed in one way or another & will do so over coming months. Whether you donated a sleeping bag, have given your time or money, registered as a host family or are offering help in any other area we are so grateful for your support & proud of our community.
Sarah Walker- Revive Ministries Lead