The Niagara community comes together to help people in Ukraine

The Niagara community has come together to donate thousands of items to send to soldiers and civilians in Ukraine. Over 700 boxes of medical, military and personal hygiene items have been sent from the Niagara region to Ukraine.

In Ontario after ten years, firefighter gear is decommissioned but is still protective. Niagara fire stations have stepped up by donating equipment. Bob Oleksiw, St. Catharines Firefighter says they have sent out 102 sets already. “Hopefully the first responders there are already wearing that equipment. Today we’ve got about 50-60 more sets. Unbelievable what’s going on, so they need a lot of this equipment.”

The president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Niagara says they’ve been working with the Canada Ukraine foundation as well as charities to send over the items collected. They say the support they’ve received is ‘overwhelming, but, they need more money.

Since tensions in Ukraine escalated in January more than seven thousand Ukrainians have arrived in Canada. The federal government said they won’t be putting a cap on the number of Ukrainians who want to come into the country. They’ll be placed in communities they have ties to or areas with large Ukrainian populations.

The St. Johns Ukrainian Catholic Church will be accepting money as well as medical and military supplies until Saturday at 8 pm. They’ll be starting another drive for when refugees arrive in the Niagara region.