The boss of a Nottingham building firm is driving across Europe to take aid to refugees fleeing from war-torn Ukraine.
John Granger, who owns Atomic Developments, said he couldn’t continue to watch news of human suffering following Russia’s invasion without doing something to help.
So he asked his team to help him research the best way of collecting aid and delivering it directly to those who need it.
He said that within 24 hours he was inundated with offers of cash, sleeping bags, thermal blankets, nappies, dried foods, sanitary products and medical supplies to take with him.
On Friday morning (March 11), he and seven others will take turns driving four Vauxhall Vivaro work vans through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany to reach their destination at an aid drop-off point in the Polish city of Lublin, Poland, 60 miles from the Ukrainian border.
The convoy hopes to arrive at a centre run by Caritas, a Polish aid organisation similar to Red Cross, on Saturday morning.
The team will stay overnight at accommodation owned by one of John’s employees, Polish-born painter Pawel Lewaneowski, before beginning the 22-hour journey home on Sunday.
John said: “I always watch the news and I was watching more and more scenes of the terrible atrocities in the Ukraine.
“It’s easy to flick over the channels and ignore it, or just send cash, but I wanted to do something real, something more personal to me, and make sure those poor people actually got what they needed.”
He has sorted out all the logistics – from routes and customs paperwork to accommodation and ferry bookings – with the help of his general manager Nicole Giles, and another Polish employee, office administrator Joanna Philbin.
He said: “It was a real joint effort and I’m so grateful to my staff and to all those family, friends, companies and other organisations who came forward with so many offers of aid.
“We’ve been absolutely inundated.”
Donations have come from sources including Tesco, Auction Estates in Nottingham, property agents FHP, Capatex Ltd, Incontinence Shop in Bolton and even the James Peacock Infant and Nursery School in Ruddington
John, a father-of-two, who launched his building and renovation business in 2011, said: “None of us should stand by and watch what is happening in Ukraine.
“While other recent wars and humanitarian crises, such as in Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan, may have seemed like a million miles away, this one is right on our doorstep.
“I could not forgive myself if I didn’t play my part in helping out.”
Donations can be delivered to Atomic’s headquarters in Regent Street, Nottingham, by noon on Thursday, March 10.
