Here's how people in Harrogate district can best help Ukraine and refugees

Harrogate MP vows to keeps up pressure on Government to help Ukranian refugees

Among the growing number of local collection centres being set up in the Harrogate district following the horrors of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the estimated one million refugees fleeing the conflict, is The Living Room cafe, which can be found behind Starbeck Methodist Church.

The venue on Starbeck High Street is appealing for toiletries and sanitary items for Ukrainan refugees, saying items will be picked up on Saturday for transport to Europe.

The cafe will be open for people's donations tomorrow, Friday, March 4 from 9am to 3pm.

But one thing the new collection point in Starbeck is not calling for is people to donate clothes.

A local charity which has real experience of helping refugees can explain the reason why offering clothes is not, perhaps, as good and idea as it seems at first thought.

Ripon City of Sanctuary says it is offering practical advice as public support for the people of Ukraine builds almost daily.

The charity, which was formed in 2016 to create a culture of hospitality for asylum-seekers and refugees, says it is important everyone’s humanitarian instincts are channelled in the best way for Ukranian refugees themselves.

On the question "should people donate clothing?" Ripon City of Sanctuary says the following:

There have been several collections of clothing in the local area with people willing to donate these to the people of Ukraine.

However this is likely to have “little benefit” according to Ripon City of Sanctuary as clothing is already being provided by neighbouring countries.

A spokesperson for Ripon City of Sanctuary said: “Ukraine is 1,700km away, so transporting clothing there will involve a huge amount of effort, time and money, and is likely to have little benefit at the other end."

The best thing people can do to help Ukraine, says Ripon City of Sanctuary, is to donate money to the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal.

The Ripon charity has also issued a new leaflet with practical ways of helping refugees.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/riponcityofsanctuary

Harrogate and District Community Action have also issued advice on the best ways to help Ukranian refugees which can be found at https://hadca.org.uk/news/supporting-ukraine.

Similar advice is available from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) available at https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2022/03/02/charities-civil-society-ukraine.

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