A successful 1,200-mile-long journey of the hire industry: The Plant and Hire Aid Alliance' convoy delivered 1,500 boxes of donations for Ukraine

The association also organizes a Christmas truck that will bring gifts to children in Ukraine

On Monday 17^th October, after 1,200 miles and a 22-hour journey across Belgium, Holland Germany, Poland and Slovakia, the Plant and Hire Aid Alliance’s convoy finally arrived at its destination – a warehouse near to Kosice Airport in Slovakia. This location is important as it’s the most Easterly point of Europe before entering Ukraine. The 15 vehicles and 1,500 boxes of donations being carried were made possible by the support of 40 Alliance members, all of whom are hire companies or are suppliers to the hire industry.

The convoy was met by a group of 40 Ukrainian refugee volunteers who unpacked the vans and loaded them into artic lorries and vans in less than 2-hours. Stretchers, wheelchairs and crutches were prioritised and packed into a separate van for urgent delivery to central Ukraine.

The lorries were despatched the same evening, destined for Rotary International’s Humanitarian Centre at Uzhhorod, a major city to the East of the Ukrainian border. Here, supplies will be distributed across the country by local volunteers in transit vans, ensuring that they’re made available to those that really need them.

Earlier in the day, an arrival of 250 mattresses at the warehouse from the Plant and Hire Aid Alliance was repacked into artics and sent to Lviv where the mattresses will be used in underground bunkers to shield citizens from Russian shelling.

Jeremy Fish, CEO at Ardent, one of the founding members of the Alliance, said, “This convoy was an opportunity to show the world that our industry can unite behind urgent humanitarian crises and that we’re a force for good. The plight of millions of Ukrainians is desperate and this is our opportunity to help and give something back.”

The Plant and Hire Aid Alliance is now turning to its next initiative: “Let’s Give Ukrainian Children A Christmas This Year”.

Jeremy says, “This time last year many Ukrainian children were looking forward to Christmas. This year it’s different, with homes and towns destroyed, families torn apart and killed, including children. Millions have lost livelihoods and loved ones and millions more face an uncertain future.

We’ve booked a 40-foot artic on 12^th December to take Christmas presents to Ukrainian children. The truck will deliver presents to Kosice, Eastern Slovakia where Rotary International will use local and Ukrainian volunteers to distribute them to children across the country.

The idea is that people buy and wrap a present(s). They attach a removable label that describes what the gift is, whether it is for a boy or girl and the age range. They send it to an address that’s on the Alliance website or they can consolidate gifts at their own locations and send them in as a job lot.

The events of the last few months will scar many of these children for their lives. I’d like to think that together we can bring a little bit of joy into their lives at this most difficult of times.

Full details are on the Plant and Hire Aid Alliance website www.aid-alliance.com