A Ukrainian woman who is a resident of Darlington, was invited to visit No10 Downing Street last week in recognition of her contribution to the community.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, Olena Rusa swiftly organised for lorries with supplies from across the region to be sent to the Ukraine to support families in need.

Olena has also helped Ukrainian families integrate into society in Darlington as part of the Home Office initiatives. 

The mother-of-three moved to the UK over 20 years ago, was at the forefront of efforts in Darlington last year to pull together humanitarian aid from across the town.

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Setting up a donation point at Firthmoor Community Centre, thousands of donations flooded through the doors of the centre as local residents supported the collection drive. 

Over 150,000 items were collected in support of people fleeing the war and over 300 people volunteered and gave over 2,000 hours in support of Olena’s campaign and 1337 boxes were delivered to the Ukraine border.

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Peter Gibson, Member of Parliament for Darlington, said: “It was a privilege to accompany Olena as she met the Prime Minister and was recognised for her contribution.

“The donation point organised by Olena enabled thousands of items to be donated to her home country of Ukraine and this would have made a huge difference at such a critical time.

“Olena should be incredibly proud of her achievements.”