Richmond Hill community comes together to support Ukrainian newcomers

Yorkregion.com
July 19, 2022
Sheila Wang

Generous donors in Richmond Hill went out of their way to support Ukrainians fleeing the war and settling in the community with much-needed donations on Saturday.

Many residents and groups showed up at the Elvis Stojko Arena in Richmond Hill to lend their helping hands at a four-hour donation drive hosted by Mayor David West.

"I am thrilled with the generosity of our community!" Mayor West said. "Thank you to the many donors who made the time to stop by today and support our newest community members. Your generosity will positively impact countless families and demonstrate the goodwill of Richmond Hill to our newest residents."

The event was held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 16 to help gather donations, such as clothes, school supplies and personal care items, to help the Ukrainians who have newly arrived in or are coming to Richmond Hill for a safe haven.

At the donation drive, the community collectively contributed four truckloads of donations and over 150 individual donations and thousands in gift cards donations, according to the mayor's office.

All donations have been delivered to the Richmond Hill Welcome Centre, which is often the first point of contact for the newcomers.

The Richmond Hill community donated a wide range of items that are sorely needed to help Ukrainian newcomers rebuild their lives in a foreign land. Many newcomers have come to Canada with only the clothes on their backs.

Several newly arrived families from Ukraine attended the donation drive on Saturday, and one of them -- who has been struggling to settle down -- got connected with the welcome centre through the event, according to the mayor's office.

“One of the beautiful things I think that's going to happen from this is that it seems like there's going to be some trickle-down effect,” said Kate Davey of the mayor’s office.

She said there were people from the community who reached out and expressed a willingness to pitch in after the event.