People of Leigh go 'above and beyond' with aid donations to Ukraine

Since the Russian invasion into Ukraine last week, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes and have headed to refugee camps in bordering countries.

Wishing to help in whatever way they can, people from all over Leigh have donated essential items, shared appeals far and wide, and volunteered to help collections run smoothly.

Heaps of essential items were donated throughout the week

This has included Leigh Centurions, local businesses, and ordinary members of the community.

One of the main collection points in the town was at Leigh Parish Church, on St Mary's Way.

Since appealing for donations on Sunday, February 27, the response from the community is said to have been "outstanding".

Donations included blankets, toiletries, clothes and medical equipment

Kevin Crinks, vicar at St Mary's Parish Church said: "Since Monday morning, the donations have been flooding in - to the point where we had to order an extra van to pick everything up.

"People have been donating anything they can, bringing bags of stuff bought from supermarkets and asking can they help with the packing, sorting, and loading.

"The generosity of the people of Leigh has been phenomenal - but this is shown time and time again in times of need."

Volunteers have helped to bag, sort and load the donations

With donations - such as blankets, toiletries, kids clothes, and first aid kits - coming in all week, these have now all been delivered to the Polish Integration Support Centre (PISC) in Liverpool.

One of the leading suppliers of donated goods across the North West, volunteers at PISC will drive the items onto the Polish-Ukrainian border for mothers, children, and all the refugees who have been displaced by the war.

For now, the Church is not taking any more donations but Kevin explained they will restart the effort if necessary.

Volunteers have now taken the donations to a collection point in Liverpool, which will then be taken to the Polish-Ukrainian border

Kevin added: "The amount of people who have wanted to help is fantastic, and the kindness of strangers has been amazing."

"I'm so proud of Leigh, and it's been a privilege to be a part of it."

Kevin said the generosity of the people of Leigh has been "phenomenal"