From Hull with love: The aid appeal giving ‘overwhelming’ support for Ukraine
‘EVERYBODY’S COMING TOGETHER’: Helen Skinner
By Simon Bristow
It is a place of extraodinary bustle, where the sound of tears, laughter, and shouting mingle with the scraping of pallets and the diesel-thrum of lorry engines.
It is a place where hour after hour, the people of Hull are coming to show they will not turn their back on strangers in desperate trouble 1,500 miles away.
We are in the cavernous shell of a former Staples store off Ferensway that has rapidly become the centre of the city’s humanitarian relief effort for Ukraine.
The response to appeals for food, medicine, clothes and toys has been so great that just days after it opened for this purpose there is already talk of needing an extra storage facility.
As if to illustrate the point, the lorry now being unloaded is from Harrogate, having been hastily re-directed here after a hitch in the supply chain in North Yorkshire.
It is fortunate, then, that the organisation co-ordinating the Hull operation is largely ex-military; staffed by the determined and resourceful volunteers of veterans charity Hull 4 Heroes. Words like “no” and “can’t” and not really ones they use or recognise.
In response to the crisis in Eastern Europe they have quickly come together with Magda Moses, who with others formed Hull 4 Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion of that country. Hull’s community and voluntary organisations are also behind the effort, along with Hull City Council, which proved how adept it was at responding to crisis during the Covid pandemic.
Local businesses have generously joined the effort, donating vehicles, drivers, and a forklift truck among other goods and services.
“Hull City Council got in touch with us and asked if we could help out,” said Hull 4 Heroes founder and CEO Paul Matson.
“They knew we could do it because we’d been running a distribution centre for food during Covid. “We get on well with Magda and said we’ll run the logistics. There will be collection points all over the city and we’ll run it from here.”
Paul has overcome much in his life and his spirit personifies the organisation he now leads.
He served for four years in the Royal Artillery with the rank of Lance Bombardier, but like many veterans found himself homeless and struggling to adapt to civilian life when he left in 1984.
“I fell down,” he said, a succinct way of describing a period that also involved battles against drink and drugs.
But when he had truly reached rock bottom, and was even contemplating taking his own life, he was helped up by a Hull couple who offered him food and shelter. He has never looked back.
“Somebody offered me help and I took that help,” he said. “They just wanted to do their bit and they did.”
After becoming a builder Paul began working with Nick Knowles on the BBC series DIY SOS. Inspired by a visit to a veterans’ street in Manchester, Paul and Hull 4 Heroes are now close to realising a dream of creating a veterans’ village in Hull.
Paul has to break off our interview for a meeting, and the story of the aid effort is picked up by Hull 4 Heroes projects co-ordinator Helen Skinner.
She said: “Paul got a call from a Russian man married to a Ukrainian woman in Hull and said he wanted to do something to help. We contacted Hull 4 Ukraine and said can we help, and she said ‘Yes please’.
“They were just overwhelmed and we said use our warehouses [in Sutton Fields]. By the first day we could see how big it was getting so we rang the council and said ‘We’re going to need a bigger boat’, and the next day they gave us the keys to this place.”
Lorries carrying much-needed supplies have already been dispatched by Hull 4 Ukraine to Romania, and from there the goods sent on to Ukraine. Next week another will go to Poland.
Helen says she tries not to watch the news of the war in Ukraine, but yesterday saw pictures on Facebook of refugees huddled together in sleeping bags.
“I saw that and burst into tears,” she said. “And when I learned they were leaving their dogs behind, that broke me. I’ve just got to get on with what I’m doing here.”
People are responding to the crisis for many reasons.
“It’s the babies I feel sorry for,” said Jessica Qualter, from Holderness Road, who had just dropped off prams, a Moses basket, nappies, baby food and toiletries. “I just feel so sorry for them and want to help.”
From Monday, the following locations will be available as drop-off points for anyone wanting to donate:
Former Staples building at the side entrance in Myton Street, HU1 2PS, Monday to Friday from 10am to 3pm;
The Freedom Centre at 97 Preston Rd, HU9 3QB, Monday to Friday from 10am to noon;
Eastside Community Sports Trust in Staithes Road, Preston, HU12 8DX, Monday to Friday from 11am to 6pm.
Items can no longer be accepted at the Hull 4 Heroes shop in Whitefriargate, or at Living Hope Christian Church in Linnaeus Street.
Organisers have also amended the list of items required. Still needed are:
dried food, pasta, tinned goods, sweets, packet rice;
medication – painkillers, bandages, plasters, children’s paracetamol, first aid kits;
children’s warm clothing – hats, scarves, coats;
children’s small toys, cuddly toys, dolls, colouring books, crayons, picture books, very small jigsaws (no large plastic toys).
Items no longer needed include:
adult clothes;
toiletries;
bedding.
People are also being asked not to bring aerosols, sanitiser, matches, perfumes, razors, bleach, cleaning products or batteries.
Magda said: “I’m overwhelmed by Hull’s warm response and the people who have come forward to volunteer are doing an incredible job. Everyone just wants to feel like they are doing something.”
Paul said: “The support from the general public and local businesses such as Arco, Bowker Transport, Eco Engineering, Needlers, Barek Lift Trucks and KCOM, to name but a few, has been overwhelming.
“With lorries being donated to ship to Romania and Poland, we know the aid is actually getting to the people who need it most.
“Hull City Council has been amazing. Nothing has been too big an ask, with almost daily meetings to check if we need anything else.
“I am so proud of our team and the team at Hull 4 Ukraine for the dedication they have shown.”
City council leader, Councillor Daren Hale, said: “We are delighted that the Hull 4 Ukraine appeal has received such an incredible response from the generous people and businesses of our city.
“We urge everyone to keep donating at the new drop-off points as the Hull 4 Ukraine team continue their vital work during this humanitarian crisis.
“Our thoughts continue to be with the Ukrainian people, and Hull City Council and our local MPs will continue to support the city’s aid effort in every way we can.”
Hull 4 Heroes has also set up an online fundraising campaign to support transportation and the purchase of medical supplies. This has already raised more than £2,000 towards its £10,000 target. Donations can be made here.
Anyone wanting to volunteer or find out more can email enquiries@hull4heroes.org.uk or projects@hull4heroes.org.uk.