Organisers of an appeal which saw a landmark building in Newport flooded with donations for Ukraine have launched another desperate plea. They now urgently need more volunteers to take the remaining items over to the war-torn country because they're facing an imminent deadline to clear the premises.
The historic Westgate Hotel in the city's centre was filled by a mountain of goodwill gifts after photographer Kamila Jarczak put a shout out on social media several weeks ago through her community group Women of Newport. The once-derelict building, which became a cornerstone of the area's Chartist history, became so full with donations that the 80-strong team of organisers found themselves overwhelmed.
As a result they had to ask generous members the Welsh public to stop sending anymore items, other than much-needed medical equipment. Indeed, such was the amount of donations that Newport County’s football ground Rodney Parade and Friars Walk shopping precinct also stepped forward to provide extra storage for the campaign.
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Now though, despite more than several tonnes of donations having already been shipped abroad, organisers say they still need help shifting the mountain of supplies that's left. And they stressed that they need to have the Westgate, along with the designated space at Friars Walk, cleared of donations by early next week.
"We are absolutely desperate for some help - volunteers, vans, drivers... anyone," they tweeted.
"We have two deadlines to move out from the Friars Walk and the Westgate Hotel and we struggle. Please, give us some support - we need hands."
"We're so grateful to everyone who's helped so far - whether it's donating stuff or transporting it," added Polish-born Kamila. "But there's a music festival scheduled to take place at the Westgate over Easter Bank Holiday weekend (Friday, April 15 - Sunday, April 17).
"So we have to get everything cleared and the place cleaned well before then. And the deadline for doing the same at Friars Walk already elapsed a few days ago, so that's even more critical.
"Whatever anyone can do to help out would be greatly appreciated." If you'd like to volunteer you can contact Kamila on 0736 50 700 20 or via the Women of Newport Facebook and Twitter pages.
