Oxford United are delighted to welcome Autotrak Portable Roadways Ltd as new Academy Sponsors for the 2022/23 season and we are especially pleased because they have decided to promote local charity, Hope and Help Together. We are inspired to see the charity’s logo adorn the sleeves of all academy groups’ shirts.
UK HELP FOR UKRAINE is part of the Hope and Help Together charity that supports civilian and medical groups by supplying vital life-saving humanitarian aid.
UK HELP FOR UKRAINE is one of the largest donation and distribution hubs in the UK. Working across the Midlands counties of Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Northamptonshire, based in Banbury, a team of 20 Volunteers has been working since day 2 of the war in Ukraine to provide humanitarian aid directly to those affected.
The Banbury-based charity is dedicated to the people of Ukraine, who are currently at war after the brutal attack by Putin's Russian troops. Their aim is to support the Ukrainian people at this difficult time.
Initially, Hope & Help Together organised humanitarian help in the form of collecting donations in Banbury and then transporting these goods into the hands of the Ukrainians who were fleeing to Poland. Since the refugee situation had settled down, the charity was requested to provide help directly in Ukraine for people in recently and newly liberated areas near Kyiv, Kharkiv and others.
Donations are declining, but the war still rages. People are still dying and are still desperate for help and support.
To date, the charity have sent:
- Over 300 Tons of Aid
- 12 Articulated lorries. The average cost of sending a large lorry (20 tonnes) is £10,000.
- 30 Vans. The Average cost of sending a van including general and specialist aid (2 tonnes) is £3,500 and,
- 6 Cars and 1 Ambulance. The Average cost of sending a 4x4 car on a one-way trip full of aid is £5,000. Fuel alone is £700 for a round trip for a van or car.
Over the course of the season, there will be a series of initiatives where all academy groups and academy players’ parents will have the opportunity to support the charity’s operation at their base in Banbury.
Head of the Charity, Magdalena Kwiecinska, told us, “We are getting calls for help on a daily basis. Most of the time they are for specific items which the Ukrainians cannot obtain easily in their own country any more, e.g. medical and educational equipment, generators, cooking equipment, as well as basics like canned food and bottled water and hygiene products for areas where there is no electricity and water.”
Assistant Manager of Oxford United’s Academy, Matt Jarvis, said, “It's fantastic to be working alongside Hope & Help Together for this season, and everyone at the Academy is grateful to Autotrak Portable Roadways Ltd for their sponsorship.
“We are looking forward to supporting the charity throughout the year and have several opportunities for our young men at the Academy to support Hope & Help Together to work with the Ukrainian people at this terrible time.
“We are always looking to ‘Invest in the Lives of Young Footballers’, and as part of this, we see it as vital that they understand and contribute to the atrocities that the Ukrainian people are having to endure, and how valuable any support that we can give is. We look forward to working with Hope & Help Together this campaign”.
To find out more or, better still, to see what you could do to help, please login to www.ukhelpforukraine.com. The charity has opened an official charity bank account, which is linked with their GoFundMe page, where you can donate directly to them HERE