Community centre ‘overwhelmed’ by response to Ukraine aid donations appeal

On Monday at least 30 volunteers were sorting out and loading up towering piles of donations which have flooded in to the Polish White Eagle Club in Balham, south London.

The club will be the pick-up point for much-needed “quality items and not just things that people want to get rid of” – including pillows, blankets, duvets, sanitary items, sanitary wipes, toys and first aid kits – to be sent to the Polish/Ukraine border.

From Monday morning, donated clothes were no longer being called for as the team had been flooded with boxes of items and the club’s on-the-ground contacts in Poland had said other donations were becoming more pressing.

Club manager Krzysztof Gonder told the PA news agency: “It is sad (that it is needed) but I am not complaining because I believe I am working for a good cause.

“I would help anybody who needs help in war. Ukraine is our neighbour country. So many Ukrainians live in Poland so we feel they are part of the Polish population. They are one of ours and, therefore, we feel we need to help them.

“It is not just Polish people (here in Britain) who are helping. It is people from all different communities and countries, and from the neighbourhood.”

After the items have been collected, sorted, labelled and boxed, they are being moved to a warehouse in Croydon, south London, before being loaded on to trucks that will take them to the front line.

Approximately three truckloads had been sent to the warehouse by Monday morning, a day after the donation drive began operation, when queues stretched to the nearby tube station a five-minute walk away, according to Mr Gonder.

Many more volunteers were needed on Sunday when the club became swamped with donations.

The club is working with shops, charities and volunteers in its role as a grassroots humanitarian aid organisation.

The original plan was that Magda Harvey, of the Polish White Eagle Club, would pay for “maybe a couple” of lorries to get the items abroad but the surge in donations means that nearer “20 or 30 lorries are needed, and that is overwhelming”.

Mr Gonder said: “We are looking for people who are willing to take (items) to Poland or to pay for transportation. We have received a few telephone calls today.”

On Monday volunteers were organising the donations inside the centre while outside in the car park, other members of the team were directing traffic as cars pulled to drop off loads alongside locals arriving with big shopping bags stuffed with items.

Opening times for donations a day earlier were from 10am to 5pm but this was extended into the evening, with volunteers getting home in the early hours.

A Facebook message and assistance from a Polish radio station had helped to get the call for assistance out.

The club is currently shut for all social and commercial business, such as parties and events, with every spare inch of the building and its car park given over to the charity drive.

Mr Gonder, who said there was “not a single minute” of a second thought about the decision to shut down the building, added: “Yesterday, I emailed people and businesses who normally rent rooms from us to say the club is not available this week. They responded ‘we absolutely understand that’.”

He expects the club’s offer of help will be open for “as long as it takes”, although in future it may be on a smaller scale.

He added: “We may not use the main hall from next week but who knows? We have rooms upstairs as well which are full with bags. We will just keep on going for as long as it is needed.

“It will help. I am very confident about that. We have people who are helping in Poland and we know what is needed, and what war is like.

“I am Polish. I know from my grandfather and from my parents how bad war is.”