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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 17 ,2 02 2 | 10 !dlihc ruoy rof tnemnorivne efas a seetnaraug noitpo tuo-kcol lortnoc/dlihc ehT sllems evomer ot ytivac sezirodoed :noitazirodoeD F°524 - F°001 morf serutarepmet htiw nevo raluger a sa noitcnuf ot evaworcim swolla ekab/tsaor noitcevnoC rewop gnikooc fo sttaw 0001 ,yticapac )L 82( .tf .uc 0.1 !ecived eno siht htiw secnailppa 5 fo krow eht oD eB oT deeN t'noD secnailppA ,detimiL si ecapS nehW 6-SSB0601WMDD - NWOHS LEDOM 7491 ECNIS moc.ybnaD ta sevaworcim rehto hcraes ro serutaef eht lla tuo kcehC Around 2,800 kilograms of supplies began their journey to war-ravaged Ukraine on Thursday, March 10 following a suc- cessful collection drive by Oakville's St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre. The centre reached out to the community via so- cial media in late Febru- ary asking for diapers, sleeping bags and other items that would help the Ukrainian people with their daily lives as they cope with a full-scale inva- sion of their country by Russia. Russia launched that invasion Thursday, Feb. 24. With the intensification of the conflict the centre began asking for medical supplies including: trau- ma kits, tourniquets, com- pression gauze and more. John Holuk, who sits on the board of the cultural centre, joined other volun- teers in boxing up the sup- plies for shipping. "This really was more than we could have hoped for," said Holuk.for," said Holuk.f "Both in material goods that were donated, but al- so the offers for support and volunteering ... People just walked in off the street because they want- ed to help, and we were able to use those extra arms and legs as we packed." Holuk said donations came not only from the lo- cal Ukrainian community but from the broader com- munity across Halton and as far away as Hamilton. He noted Halton Para- medic Services contribut- ed trauma supplies while doctors' offices, dentists, small businesses and as- sorted community groups donated other key items. The supplies are being shipped by MEEST, a ship- ping company that is tak- ing priority items to Ukraine at no cost to orga- nizations like St. Volody- myr Cultural Centre, Ho- luk says. The Oakville man said he wants to thank the com- munity for supporting the people of Ukraine either by donating needed sup- plies or by volunteering to get those supplies ready for shipment.for shipment.f "Seeing that was abso- lutely incredible for all of us going through this ter- rible time," said Holuk. Residents interested in helping the people of Ukraine can reach out to the Canada-Ukraine Foun- dation at www.cufounda- tion.ca/donate. St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre is located at 1280 Dundas St. W. 'MORE THAN WE COULD HAVE HOPED FOR' DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com NEWS ST. VOLODYMYR CULTURAL CENTRE ENJOYS OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE SUPPLY DRIVE "People just walked in off the street because they wanted to help." - John Holuk THANK YOU FOR MAKING US YOUR TRUSTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION FIND UP-TO-DATE LOCAL COVID-19 NEWS ONLINE INSIDEHALTON.COM/CORONAVIRUS