Colleen Cornelius, manager of Humboldt’s A & W restaurant, has embarked on an important endeavour to gather donations to support refugees caught in the struggle in Ukraine. The restaurant will be accepting donations with the support of the Canadian Red Cross and St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Yorkton. 

The Red Cross will be handling all the cash donations and utilizing the money for direct support, while the Ukrainian Catholic Diocese, through St. Mary’s Parish, will be making arrangements for the shipping of goods. Father Leonid Malkov with St. Mary’s is heading up the effort along with other clergy and parishioners from Yorkton and area. 

“We are looking for donations of warm clothing, medicines, diapers, sanitary supplies, and cash donations. We will be shipping to Ukraine through the church parish.”

A previous call for cell phones has been abandoned as the group has been advised that they will not work in Ukraine. Any medications donated should be over the counter meds for pain relief, etc. and must be new and sealed. 

Cornelius plans to keep in touch with St. Mary’s Parish and with local agencies. When refugees begin to arrive in Saskatchewan, the hope is that a coordinated effort will be in place to support their intake. 

Both cash donations and goods can be dropped off at the Humboldt A & W restaurant. Over two million refugees have crossed Ukraine’s borders into other countries. The Canadian and Saskatchewan governments, along with a host of humanitarian agencies, are working on plans to support resettlement.