Don and Mary Antoshko’s house in the Hart is looking a lot emptier today.
For nearly 10 months, their home has served as a collection point and storage space for donated goods destined for Ukrainian refugees arriving in Prince George.
Their basement became a clearing house that continues to outfit new arrivals to the city fleeing the war in their homeland to give them what they needed to furnish their new homes and provide them with clothing and other personal items to help get established.
The Antoshkos had an abundance of adult winter clothing and bedding and were wondering what to do with it all when Don learned through a TV news report of a North Vancouver firefighter, Jered Reynolds, organizing a project to fill a 40-foot shipping container with winter clothing bound for the Ukraine.
“This clothing we’re sending, even though it’s very valuable winter clothing, bedding and blankets to us here for our Ukrainian families, it is our surplus that we have,” said Mary Antoshko. “We still have a lot of stuff in our basement, so I don’t think it made much of a dent at all. We have just been overwhelmed by the response and generosity of the Prince George community.
“This is clothing we’ve been receiving since March.”
Bandstra Transportation Systems agreed to pick up the cost of shipping 35 boxes on three pallets to the collection site in North Vancouver. Bandstra will then deliver the container to the port in Vancouver and it’s scheduled to begin a three-week trip to Poland on Dec. 30.
“This will be widely received in the Ukraine, people in Canada care about their well-being and it’s going to mean a lot,” said Randy Liske, the Bandstra Prince George terminal manager. “That’s a big part of who we are, taking care of communities.”
Reynolds, who works for the North Vancouver Lynn Valley Fire Department, is taking holiday time off and plans to fly overseas to meet the shipment at the Polish-Ukrainian border. He has co-ordinated two previous shipments of field hospital and medical supplies.
“He was on the news and he put out the word for people to help him collect clothing, and Mary and I were watching it and we go, 'we’ve got all these extra clothes, let’s send them,'” said Don, a retired firefighter.
Families continue to arrive in Prince George from Ukraine. Mary Antoshko said two unexpected groups landed this past weekend at Prince George Airport, including a couple who have five children who had all their belongings packed in one suitcase.
“Because we’re seeing a lot of families coming we have a great need for warm kids’ clothing,” said Mary. “The incoming families have more children than adults and that’s our biggest need right now.
“It is our wish that peace will come quickly and these people can start rebuilding their beloved country of Ukraine.
For more information on how to donate go to the Prince George For Ukraine website.
