First let me say that food box donations are going well. We have had a great response so far and have now had 203 boxes donated out of the 600 we are hoping for, double where we were a week ago! Thank you to all of you who have helped out.
When we talk about “containers” we are referring to the 40 foot shipping, or sea containers that are used to ship all of the aid to Belarus. They are brought to our Brockville warehouse empty and then delivered to the Port of Montreal (trucking donated by Harland Veinotte transport) where they board a ship that takes them to Riga, Latvia. At this point they are again hauled by truck across Europe to Belarus, where we meet them in Chausy and unload them into our warehouse (school gymnasium) there.
Due to the amazing generosity of this community, we have a lot of aid to send and we will need to ship 3 full containers this year to get everything to Belarus. Here is what we have so far:
900 shoeboxes for impoverished seniors on social welfare, who are extremely appreciative of this gift
- 200 handmade quilts for orphans as well as disadvantaged and disabled children
crutches, wheelchairs, walkers and assistive devices for physically and mentally challenged children and adults
- new and gently used clothing targeted for orphans and over 1000 families
- we are expecting incoming donations to allow us to ship 600 food boxes
Of course for all of this generosity to work, we need to get it there. The cost to ship these 3 containers is $23,805 of which $3,000 has already been donated. 100% of every dollar donated to pay for the containers will actually go to pay for the containers, no overhead, no administration! If that isn’t enough, your donation is helping to support all of the great programs listed above by getting the aid where it needs to go … one donation benefitting 1,000’s of people in need!
As always, donations can be made on-line (click the “donate now” button on the right), dropped off at Alan Browns in downtown Brockville or mailed to our post office box. Just note on the check or the donation where you want the money to go and we will do the rest.
Eric McKenzie