THOUSANDS of donations have flooded through the doors of a Darlington community centre as residents play their part in supporting people in Ukraine.
Firthmoor Community Centre has become a hive of activity as dozens of volunteers dedicate their spare time to helping with the overwhelming response from residents.
The facility was packed full on Friday, with boxes and bin bags down every corridor and in every room. Volunteers buzz about sorting donations into specific boxes before they are taped up and loaded into a bigger warehouse before making the trip to the Polish border.
Mother-of-three Lena Rusa, originally from Ukraine, helped launch the donation point alongside local councillors and has teamed up with Ukrainian friends from across Teesside.
What started off with just a handful of donations and a few boxes has now grown into thousands of items of clothing, food, medication and equipment being donated.
Read more: Darlington mum's terror as loved ones still in Kyiv in Ukraine
Ms Rusa, who has lived in the town for 13 years, fights back tears when talking about the generosity of Darlington residents. “It’s absolutely amazing. I love the area and I feel it’s my home.
“Donations are coming from everywhere. I’m overwhelmed because I didn’t expect it to be so big.”
Councillors Steven Tait and Darrien Wright also helped organise the donation point.
“Lena contacted me and asked if we could become a donation point and I also had residents in the area asking what we were doing to support the effort,” cllr Tait said.
“Whatever goes on, in this area we seem to get involved. We were a base station throughout the pandemic, so people really wanted us to do something.
“The people of Firthmoor always pull together – but it’s bigger than that because people from across the town are coming here.
“On Tuesday afternoon, things began to filter in and there was a moment I thought ‘I hope we are going to get some donations’ but since then it’s been overwhelming.”
Cllr Tait, who is also chairman of the centre, has spent the past week driving around the town picking up and sorting donations back at the centre. On Friday, he took The Northern Echo on a tour of the building, surveying all the donations so far. A room which usually operates as a gym has been repurposed due to the influx of items. Bin bags are piled up so high it covers half of the room.
Down a corridor where clothing is being examined and sorted by more volunteers a man appears at a door with a handful of sleeping bags while another woman comes around the corner armed with bin bags in each hand.
Ms Rusa is joined by fellow Ukrainian national Tanya Adams, Oleg Skalyga and lorry driver Anatolii Chornyi in helping with the effort.
Ms Adams has been ferrying car loads worth of donations from across the Stockton area to the community centre from local golf clubs to council centres.
Despite the devastating circumstances at home in Ukraine, Mr Skalyga, who lives in Eaglescliffe, thanked the local community for their emphatic generosity.
He said: “The response of the entire Teesside community has been amazing. We really feel we are not standing alone against Russian aggression - and all the volunteers here prove this.”
Friday was the busiest day so far thanks to the generosity of residents, volunteers said, and the donations are expected to continue into next week. Donations collected in Eastbourne and at Blackwell Meadows for Darlington` FC are also being sorted at the site. People from Stokesley, Chester-le-Street, Stockton, Bishop Auckland and Eaglescliffe have all travelled miles to visit the centre.
Read more: Langley Moor in County Durham rally around for stranded Ukrainian truckers
Cllr Wright described the response so far as “overwhelming”.
“More and more people were coming in saying: ‘I just want to help’, he said. “It’s been very emotional.”
“I’ve had so many people messaging me, saying: ‘what can we do’,” cllr Wright added. Even just bringing a bag in, people want to do something and make a difference.
“You feel helpless because of what’s going on over there. A lady came in yesterday and said: ‘these people didn’t deserve this – how can we help?’ We can’t go over there but it made me think: ‘what we can do’”.
Helping out at the centre is one way the Ukrainians feel like they’re helping out, despite being thousands of miles away from their homeland.
Speaking of the moment she found out Russian forces had invaded her homeland, Ms Rusa said: “Last Thursday I had my friend crying on the phone, saying: ‘they’ve started to bomb – they’ve attacked us’. It was a complete shock, and I was so worried ringing friends and family while the situation was getting worse.
Read more: Durham Uni student rescued kittens while fleeing Kyiv, Ukraine
“I’m trying to deal with the tragedy unfolding in my homeland and when I speak to my mother on the phone in Kyiv I can hear explosions and sirens constantly in the background.”
And the group see themselves returning to the community centre daily for the foreseeable to help sorting donations – but also to thank residents for their kindness.
“Next week, we’re going to keep doing it,” Ms Rusa said. “We need to make sure we’ve logistically got the right measures in place. This crisis isn’t just going to end. Even if the war stops there’s a huge humanitarian crisis.
“We’ve got a huge response now but I’m also thinking about the long term. We need it to constantly be on the agenda, so people don’t forget about.”
The community centre is open from 9am-5pm for donations to be dropped off.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel