Chichester-based builders merchant Covers donates three trucks to Ukraine

By Stephen Emerson

4 August 2023

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(Left to right) Covers operations director Roger Lewis, Pip Holmes of UKtoUkraine, Caragh Booth of UKtoUkraine and Rupert Green, chairman of Covers

Timber and builders' merchants Covers is donating three lorries to the humanitarian organisation Stay Safe UA - and launching a £50,000 campaign with British fundraising group UKtoUkraine to fill them with essential equipment and supplies for the people of Ukraine.

The Covers Mercedes rigid crane lorries, plus a forklift and tracked recovery vehicle, will be making the long journey to be handed over on the Polish/Ukraine border later this month (August).

Stay Safe UA's brave volunteers will then use them to provide help to affected civilians near the frontlines. More details of their work are on their website at www.staysafeua.org

But Covers, which has 15 depots across Sussex, Hampshire and Kent, and UKtoUkraine are appealing for public support to make the most of the vehicles' carrying capacity.

Covers chairman Rupert Green said: 'These trucks will play a crucial role in supplying vital aid to the civilians near the frontlines in Ukraine and local hospitals.

'Their cranes will enable Stay Safe UA to be much more effective and help other aid organisations.

'One will carry a mobile shower unit, one a mobile bakery and the other will be used for transporting rescue vehicles, generators and aid pallets wherever the need is greatest.

'However, we need your help to maximise the impact of transporting them to Ukraine and equipping them for their intended use.'

Chichester-based Covers and UKtoUkraine are asking for your support to:

FUND – the cost of the journey to Ukraine

BUY – a 20ft container and a front-end loader with angle broom (for rubble clearance)

BUY – urgently-needed equipment and supplies including mortuary freezers, water transfer pumps, materials for temporary windows and medical supplies

Rupert said: 'The total estimated cost for this is £50,000. Please give generously to help these vital humanitarian initiatives in Ukraine.'

To donate as an individual with GiftAid, please go to www.gofundme.com/f/uktoukraine.

To donate as a company, please e-mail Rupert Green on [email protected] with the amount you would like to contribute. You will be sent payment details and the funds will be passed to the charity Healing Hands Network, which works in collaboration with UKtoUkraine.

By Stephen Emerson

Stephen Emerson is the Managing Editor of The Business Magazine and is responsible for the publication's print publications and online properties including the newly launched Biz News websites in Hampshire and Dorset.

Stephen has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked at local, regional and national publications and led a team which made The Scotsman website one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK with over eight million monthly users.

He has a keen interest in technology, property and corporate finance and telling the stories of the people behind the successful firms in these sectors.