You'll have to forgive this unusual journal post. I'd like to ask for your help. We've built Blake & Bull patiently in our peaceful corner of England. Seeing the destruction wrought in Ukraine by Russian forces is appalling. There are many ways to help, we've found a very direct route to do so using the skilled team and amazing facilities at Blake & Bull.
My friend Dr Daria Mattingly received her Ph.D from Cambridge University, lives in our lovely town of Bradford on Avon and is a Ukrainian from Kyiv. Daria has friends and family all over Ukraine and in Kyiv, she knows what they need and how we get it to them. It's the Territorial Army who need the most support. These are civilians, including friends of Daria, recently pressed into military service.
The chap above? He graduated Kyiv Shevchenko University with Daria and was, until very recently, a civil servant. He is a father of two in remission from lymphoma. Now he finds himself on the frontline outside Kyiv with a uniform and a rifle.
With your help we'll buy what he and other territorial forces need but cannot source locally or in Poland. This will include (but is not limited to) radio equipment, body armour, medical supplies and specialist cold weather clothing. The most urgent requirement right now is a van for medical evacuation. If possible we'll buy one and deliver it, full of supplies, to the border. We'll be led entirely by Daria and her contacts.
Why donate to our campaign?
- If sending parcels we will use our super efficient logistics department and warehouse. Consignments will be sent with DHL to Warsaw and Lublin in Poland. From here a network of volunteers make sure that the supplies reach their intended locations. At present, with many trains still running, we can deliver in as little as 5 days.
- Blake & Bull will cover ALL the shipping costs to Poland of items purchased up to £500 (after that we'll recover only what it costs). We'll also match your donations from company funds up to £2,500.
- £7,500 of donations to our fund will become £10,000 of crucial equipment shipped, at little or no cost, directly to the brave men and women in Ukraine. A few weeks ago they were working normally and now find themselves manning barricades against Russian tanks and mounting rescues of civilians affected by the indiscriminate shelling in many areas.
- Our effort will be completely transparent with every item of expenditure publicly recorded by Blake & Bull's Finance Director. We'll update regularly on the purchases and shipments we make. We'll give you as much information as possible on where the items have gone.
If peace comes to Ukraine soon, and we hope it does, we'll redirect our spending to items useful for rebuilding and supporting normal and happy life in Ukraine.
I hope you can help.
Matthew
