Donating to Ukraine, single charity's by hard goods eg sanitary products or money to red cross?

[Tigersonvaseline]

I Said to DH our budget is £100 and I'm asking my young DC to chip in, so £100 product from cost co I'm thinking nappies And sanitary stuff but he Said proper charity can buy in bulk and buy more?

Any one know more about the most effective use of our £100

I booked an air bnb

DEC is the Disasters Emergency Committee - 15 leading charities working together. They are the experts.

www.dec.org.uk/who-we-are

Imagine random lorry's with stuff shoved in, and whilst some item's maybe new and really helpful who , how where will they get sorted and to the correct recipients?

Going to a UK supermarket and buying goods to ship to Poland is obviously bonkers, but even if you have useful stuff like good quality childrens coats that your DC have grown out of, it's probably more effective to give them to your local Red Cross or Save the Children charity shop where they can be sold at UK second hand prices to raise money for local goods in Eastern Europe and not driven across the continent.

I'm going to get a donation bag for my local Red Cross shop together, and also give cash to the DEC.

I posted the link from Poland in a group and just got abuse back :(

Seems loads us going from here locally I just hope its useful
So much so that some of the shelfs for nappies and baby milk are empty and people are struggling to get them for use for now
Money has to be better given to the right organisations but then again i can see why people are suspect of this when you read about how much some charity's pay directors etc
Its hard knowing what will be best

Directors aside though, people just won't accept their donations are not as needed yet. There may be a time when they are, but not now. Unfortunately people can't handle this.

@TheOnlyMrsMac

www.wearelumos.org - Can I ask those wanting to help the people of Ukraine to consider making a donation to Lumos? They now have a Ukraine Disaster Appeal but have been working in Ukraine since 2013. Ukraine has one of the highest numbers of children and young people in orphanages and institutions in Europe. Currently there are over 100,000 of the most vulnerable children - many disabled - trapped in Ukraine's orphanages and institutions. Please be careful as there are similar-sounding organisations with Lumos in the name. Thank you.

Lumos had governance issues a few years ago and some very negative articles about their directors and executives. Have they solved those issues? www.thirdsector.co.uk/jk-rowling-charity-chief-steps-down-governance-review-looms/governance/article/1590599

@Chakraleaf

I posted the link from Poland in a group and just got abuse back :(

How awful 😞 sorry to hear

There are lots of appeals on local Facebook pages and tons of stuff has been donated.
Someone this morning was asking where to drop stuff off and she had a photo of boxes of Avon bubble bath and hair detangler!
How on earth can anyone think this is helpful?
Earlier in the week I was going to donate my dc's winter coats that they've grown out of but now I'm just going to donate money instead, probably to Lumos.

Chakraleaf I tried to raise it at work And didn't get a good reception so I'm keeping my mouth shut.

There's already mass confusion that these supplies are going into Ukraine itself.
Usual suspects dominating at work, speaking as if they are the only one's who know what's going on And care more than anyone else.

The quieter and more considered amongst us have done a little research and donated ££.

I'm happy to get actual products if that's specifically mentioned by large charities.

Or they are going to a specific targeted area.

I also tried to mention it to a friend as we were discussing the situation and she cut me off..

I'm not donating ££ I've already done 10 large sacks of stuff.

• after all if you just give ££ no one can see you coming in bustling with bag's for Ukraine.

Well, right on the edge to be fair , bubbles bath can be used in the shower And I would appreciate hair detangmer for my DC.

I booked a couple of air b&b

As previous poster states, booking AIRBNB to get funds direct, if you can’t stretch to this, Etsy have Ukraine artists selling digital artwork, so you pay and potentially download the artwork, there’s nothing to physically post and hopefully money is going direct. I got some kids artwork, heartbreaking 💔.

@Chakraleaf

I posted the link from Poland in a group and just got abuse back :(

I debated posting it on our local town page but decided it wasn't worth it. They're not going to listen to me, when they've already decided what to do and have so many people saying how great they are for organising a collection.

Our local supermarkets had no nappies or baby wipes, so people who live here couldn't buy them because they're being sent to Ukraine.

The town hall is full of stuff and they're now calling for volunteers to pack the vans, and looking for people with vans willing to spend a week driving to Poland and back. They must realise that they will need people at the other end to unpack the vans - I don't think they've organised that.

Maybe people should think things through before deciding what they think is best.

@Fastforwardtospring There are lots of other Etsy sellers that have physical goods too, you can say in the notes please do not ship and send a message. I am sure they will be very grateful too.

The whole of France, Germany Netherlands etc will also be sending stuff!

Oh well.
I'm sure much of it will help someone somewhere.

@Tigersonvaseline

The whole of France, Germany Netherlands etc will also be sending stuff!

Oh well.
I'm sure much of it will help someone somewhere.

I know. I've had loads of abuse about it so will just keep quiet now :(

@worriedatthemoment

Seems loads us going from here locally I just hope its useful So much so that some of the shelfs for nappies and baby milk are empty and people are struggling to get them for use for now Money has to be better given to the right organisations but then again i can see why people are suspect of this when you read about how much some charity's pay directors etc Its hard knowing what will be best

This is why I am reluctant to give a cash donation. Not sure how the money will be spent and I do not want it being used for someone's salary. Sending a pack of nappies is a concrete donation which will be of more use.

But not if it's going too cost a fortune to get it there.
The.dec is 15 huge charities all working as one

Does Amazon work in Poland!
Buying stuff to get sent directly there maybe better

People on the groud are literally saying need cash and donate cash. Why are people ignoring it for what THEY think is best.

Sending a pack of nappies is a concrete donation which will be of more use
Not if it costs 5x its actual value in transportation costs, import fees and volunteer hours

@DockOTheBay

Sending a pack of nappies is a concrete donation which will be of more use Not if it costs 5x its actual value in transportation costs, import fees and volunteer hours

I get that, but I worry about the money not being put to good use for its intended purpose. As with any charity.