Consett fundraiser Kathryn Rooney will have to remember to pack her scissors when she travels to Poland to later this month.
For the former hairdresser-turned Ukraine fundraising champion is planning to offer haircuts to families who have fled their homes in the Ukraine and who are currently living in refugee camps.
And Kathryn has come up with a novel way to raise extra funds to buy supplies for the camp while she is there - by asking North East people to sponsor each haircut - and it's a snip at £5 a go.
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The Durham county councillor is travelling to Wroclaw next week, along with another six volunteers, all of whom met while helping to pack donations made by the people of the former steel town to send to help Ukrainian people displaced by the Russian invasion.
The County Durham town's mammoth effort, led by Kathryn, has so far sent 14 full articulated lorries of clothing, kitchenware and toiletries to Poland, with the last four going to the camp in Wroclaw. And now the seven volunteers, who are funding the trip to Poland themselves, are appealing for money so they can buy food and underwear for people in the camp while they are in Poland.
"We've been told the people in the camp are desperate for these two things, so it makes sense to buy them while we are there as Poland is cheaper than the UK and we won't have to pay for transport," said Kathryn.
"But some families won't have been able to have a haircut for months, and I thought that's something I could do to maybe boost their spirits. Then I thought about our fundraising and came up with the idea of asking people to pay for a haircut for someone in the camp, and the money raised will be used to buy food for the people there.
"So far, we have had more than 30 haircuts sponsored, but I would like to make it a lot more. I am going to be very busy!"
Kathryn, who now works as a youth worker, was moved to help after seeing stories about the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the news. She asked on Facebook if friends and family wanted to donate, which snowballed into a major operation which has taken over St Mary's Church Hall, in Blackhill, near Consett, for the past two months. Dozens of local people answered the call for volunteers to help sort of the donations for packing into the articulated trucks ready for the journeys, first to Ukraine and later to the border with Poland.
Although donations are still coming in to the church hall, Kathryn says the focus has turned to cash for the moment, to enable the volunteers to buy what is needed when they get to Poland.
You can sponsor a haircut by any of the following methods:
- Online via Facebook. The link to the fundraiser can be found here.
- Paypal. Email address: kathrynlrooney@msn.com
- Bank Transfer: Sort code: 11-02-53 Account no 01175790
- Cash or cheques payable to Kathryn Rooney - please drop off at St Mary's Church Hall, Blackhill, Consett, DH8 8LP
- Or contact Kathryn on 07880 176492
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