Ipswich wrapathon distributes 30,000 gifts in Ukraine

• Wrapathon coordinated by UK and Ukraine Rotary Clubs.
• Rotarians from the UK and Ukraine arrange a wrapathon.
• Before shipping, a school in Ipswich wrapped gifts.

Following a wrapathon event by UK volunteers, more than 30,000 gifts have been delivered to children in the war-torn Ukraine.

At Claydon High School, close to Ipswich, many of volunteers contributed to the gift-wrapping process before the shipment left Suffolk on December 12.

A child in Ukraine received each of the four truck loads of donated gifts in time for Christmas.

Organizer Jeremy Fish told the Media: “I feel overwhelmed with emotion. It brings tears to my eyes”.

“For me, this is what Christmas is all about, doing something nice for other people,” he said.

“We sent 30,000 presents and all of these have been donated by companies and members of the public.”

“We sent them initially to East Slovakia and from there they have been distributed literally to all four corners of Ukraine in just a few days,” Mr. Fish added.

“They’ve held these events in all the major cities for displaced children by the war and it’s been a spectacular effort, it really has.”

With assistance from other charities that provided items and transportation, the wrapathon on November 27 was organized by Rotary Clubs in the UK and Ukraine.

“I knew this was going to be fairly big when we couldn’t move in our warehouse in Ipswich,” Mr. Fish said.

“The response has been staggering, it’s captured Ukrainians at a national level.

“It’s lovely to see them caring so much for their children and that we’ve managed to bring a little bit of joy into their lives at such a difficult time. It’s heart-warming.”

Fifty plant and hire companies got involved in the effort, as well as hundreds of members of the public, he said.

He said that the Plant and Hire Contribute Alliance, established by businesses in the plant and plant hire sector to aid with the humanitarian effort in Ukraine, was currently working to distribute thousands of electrical generators to low-income households.

Although the goal is 10,000, more than 100 have already been sent to Kherson.

“Ukrainian families are absolutely desperate for power, there are still some seven million people who haven’t got power,” he said.

“It’s bad enough not having power but not having heating or water – or having your town or city ruined. We need to help these people, we really do.”

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