Back in November, our JJ Family rallied together to help RAF veteran Terry Rumble, who approached JJ Foodservice asking for a box of biscuits to donate to an orphanage in
Uzhhorod, Ukraine, currently housing 1,500 children and their parents.
Going Above and Beyond To Help
Terry has been working tirelessly over the past 11 months, driving back and forth to Ukraine, delivering medical and food supplies to orphanages, hospitals and schools that are suffering from the impact of losing their homes and everything they own.
When we heard about the work Terry has been doing, all of us at JJ Foodservice knew we could do a little bit more than a box of biscuits. And so, we launched the ‘Christmas Shoebox Appeal’ across all of our 11 branches, asking for any old toys, games, teddy bears, reading and colouring books, pens and pencils, gloves, hats, scarves and socks, that could be put into a wrapped shoebox for the children currently housed in the orphanage to open at Christmas.
In true JJ spirit, our teams went above and beyond to donate anything they could, including both good quality used items, and brand-new bits too! Along with four boxes of Oreo biscuits, and a wonderful donation of five boxes of wafer biscuits from our supplier Carnevale.
Pictured Joanna (left) and Mick (right), organising our donated toys to be delivered to Terry.
Terry (pictured left) with Roberto, Leicester Branch Manager (pictured right), collecting our donated biscuits to take to Ukraine.
In total, we received over 10 large boxes of donations from our branches up and down the UK, and from this, as well as lots of other donations, Terry and his team were able to make up 309 Christmas shoe boxes for the children!
An Overwhelming Response
After a few obstacles were thrown Terry’s way which delayed his trip, he finally made it to Ukraine on the 5th January. Due to the phenomenal amount of donations Terry had received from local businesses, local hospitals, residents of his local village, and food businesses in Manchester, Terry had to swap his van for a 7.5-ton lorry to make the journey across to Ukraine!
Along with our donations, Terry and his team were inundated with people wanting to get involved, and were presented with everything from brand-new ovens, washing machines, fridges and freezers, to:
18 pallets of medical aid from Cheltenham hospital
32 sacks of potatoes from Branston Potatoes
Half a ton of flour from Wessex Mill
39 large boxes of food
54 large bags of adults and children’s clothes
9 bulk sacks of adults and children’s shoes
31 large boxes of children’s toys
9 large boxes of school supplies
6 large boxes of ladies’ toiletries
28 single duvets
26 double duvets
10 king size duvets
94 pillows
36 sleeping bags
7 babies cots
17 large boxes of bedding
Approx. 28,000 candles
309 filled and wrapped Christmas shoeboxes
With his mighty team of family, friends, neighbours and ex RAF veterans, Terry made the trip over to Ukraine safely and everything got to where it was needed.
We were truly humbled and honoured to play a small part in this incredible cause, and want to highlight the phenomenal work Terry and his team continue to do.
Terry is now gathering more supplies ready for his next trip to Ukraine at the end of March, and is welcome to any donations or support. Please feel free to get in touch with him at pilot571@gmail.com, if you feel you can help in any way.
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