Dozens of pallets of goods are on their way to Ukraine

In the space of just a few days a self-employed courier from Pontefract has helped launch a charity to deliver aid to Ukraine.
Steve Marsh has set up the charity Van-Aid to distribute life-saving supplies to UkraineSteve Marsh has set up the charity Van-Aid to distribute life-saving supplies to Ukraine
Steve Marsh has set up the charity Van-Aid to distribute life-saving supplies to Ukraine

He has also recruited 40 drivers and sent nine vans full of supplies to help refugees fleeing the Russian invasion.

Steve Marsh, 58, who now lives in Cheshire, was approached by someone who wanted to arrange transport to the Polish Ukrainian border.

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He agreed to help and began recruiting through his network of connections.

CCC's Childminding Services in Ossett have been collecting aid for UkraineCCC's Childminding Services in Ossett have been collecting aid for Ukraine
CCC's Childminding Services in Ossett have been collecting aid for Ukraine

He was soon inundated with offers of help from all over the country.

Steve said: “Two days later we had a team of 10 drivers together who were all prepared to drive to Southampton to load up and then drive over to seven different locations in Poland - all funded by themselves.

“One is to a nunnery that within 24 hours last week took in just short of 1,000 babies and young children and they were desperate for nappies, Calpol and other supplies.

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“When it comes to disasters like this, the UK, generally has got lots of charities but there isn’t anything for transport and logistics that will target individual areas in need of particular aid.

“We are focusing on making sure the aid gets to the right people as quickly as we can using the resources that we’ve got.

“Rather then setting it up as a one-hit wonder we are going to set up and register Van-Aid as a charity.

“We’ve taken a digital marketing agency on board which is offering its services for free and we’ve put together a board of trustees.”

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Steve said that the cost of taking each van across to Poland is around £800 - £1,000 factoring in the cost of fuel and the driver’s lost wages.

A fundrasing campaign has been launched to offset some of the costs for future trips.

Yesterday, 26 pallets set off on a lorry to the border with Ukraine and today, two vans with four pallets of outdoor survival equipment will be setting off to help those on the front line. Thirty more vans are scheduled to depart in the next few days.

Steve said: “We are working with various agencies to source supplies. There is a huge Polish community in Southampton and they’ve done a massive amount of fundraising. Their warehouses are full of goods that are pre-sorted and labelled.

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“We want to develop Van-Aid into a means for hauliers to be able to respond quickly to this and future disasters.

“From next week we are going to be sending between 10-15 vans each week.”

Steve’s son Jacob from Pontefract is a member of the Van-Aid team and his mother-in-law Rachel Baker who lives in Castleford is part of the local fundraising team.

A Crowdfunder has been set up at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/humanitarian-aid-for-ukraine and so far, £3,845 has been raised.

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Clare Dransfield owner of CCC’s Childminding Services in Ossett put out an appeal to her clients for donations for Ukraine.

She said: “I expected a couple of bags of nappies and some babywipes but I’ve been overwhelmed with the response and my playroom is full.”

Clare has teamed up with a Polish driver whose child uses her services and he has organised for the aid to be taken over to Poland and distributed.

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