Collection campaign for Ukraine: help!

Since 2012, the Max van der Stoel Foundation (FMS) has been working with the Ukrainian SD Platform; a social democratic youth organisation. The cooperation is close and ties are strong. Several times a year, the FMS organises trainings in Ukraine.

Over the past decade, so many Dutch FMS trainers have built friendships with Katya, Igor, Olena, Bogdan and the countless others who selflessly and tirelessly work for social democracy in Ukraine. The network of local activists built up over ten years is currently being deployed to support those who are suffering the most, and provide concrete help to all who need it; from the streets of Kyiv to the shelters of Kharkiv.

We want to help the SD platform. Therefore, with your commitment, we will collect items for them: medicines, personal hygiene products, long-life food, etc. The list of items has been prepared by our Ukrainian comrades and covers the most acute needs. See below the full list.

How can you contribute?

You can contribute in three ways:

1. Buy items yourself and hand them in at one of the collection points.

Grab the list below and throw some extra items in your trolley or basket next time you are at the supermarket or drugstore. Then deliver these items to Saturday 9 April from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in at one of the collection points or have your online order delivered to the collection point on that day.

2. Organise your own collection campaign at a local supermarket or drugstore

You can also others ask to buy something extra. Collect the items yourself and then drop them off at one of the collection points on 9 April. There are tips and tricks at the bottom of this article on how best to go about this.

3. Donate money

With the money you donate, we will buy the necessary items. Donations can be made to NL15 RABO 0394 5461 21, in the name of 'Foundation Max van der Stoel' and stating 'Collection Ukraine'.

See the bottom of this mail for the addresses of the collection points. 

Transport to Ukraine

From the collection points, we make sure the items are collected in one place and then transported to the Slovak-Ukrainian border. From there, people from the SD platform distribute the items to all Ukrainians, social democrat or not. This is how we from the Netherlands contribute a little bit to alleviating the acute need in Ukraine.  

Questions

Do you have questions about this action or would you like to help in another way? If so, please contact Emiel Bongaerts (FMS intern) at eBongaerts@foundationmaxvanderstoel.nl or 06-10277209. 

We are counting on your support. Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

Arjen Berkvens (Director Foundation Max van der Stoel)

Lenna Vromans (International Secretary of the Labour Party)

Rixt van Dongera (Founder Bloody Basics)

Marina Ohanjanyan (Former FMS employee) 

Hayte de Jong (Member of the PvdA party executive committee)

PS: Share this post as much as possible within your own network!

 Overview of collection points

• Venlo (PvdA Venlo, Straelseweg 162)
• Doetinchem (Het Rode Kafé, Bilderdijkstraat 20)
• The Hague (National Party Office, Leeghwaterplein 45)
• Groningen (Ons Pand, Haddingestraat 10)
• Amsterdam (PvdA Amsterdam, Van Musschenbroekstraat 3 HS)

All collection points are at Saturday 9 April from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. opened.

Tips & Tricks for a fundraiser of your own

Below is a list of tips if you want to organise your own fundraiser.

Step 1: Collection location

• Call or drop by your local Albert Heijn or Etos and ask if you can organise a collection event at their doorstep one morning/afternoon.
• You can indicate that you approach this the same way the Food Bank does: you provide a shopping list of products that people could donate.

Step 2: Preparation

Make sure you:

• Have a shopping list that you can give people (tip: print quite a few!). You can find the shopping list this page In A5 format.
• Have our poster with 'fundraiser for Ukraine'. That way it is immediately clear to people why you are there. You can find the poster this page.
• Have several large shoppers/boxes on hand. Nappies and milk formula take up a lot of space.

Step 3: The day itself

• Arrive on time. By agreement with the venue, you can often get a table ready.
• Smart is to have some products already crated, so people can see what kind of products they can think of to bring.
• Collecting is like campaigning. Put on good shoes and warm clothes and be pleasantly surprised at the mostly positive and heartwarming response you will receive.
• Make sure you pack donated items separately at the end of the day. Baby food with the baby food, sanitary pads with the sanitary pads and medicines with the medicines. This makes sorting and especially distributing on the spot in Ukraine a lot easier.

Step 4: Delivering donations

• Bring the donated products properly wrapped to the collection location near you.
• If necessary, thank the venue where you collected. Who knows, maybe there will be a next time.