Local volunteers send Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine

PARADISE VALLEY — After months of monetary and humanitarian donations, a group of local volunteers has been able to pack and send a filled shipping container to Ukraine. 

Clothing, medical supplies, books and much more came flooding in from the Boundary County community. Volunteers packed the donations in early September, but funds to ship the container slowly trickled in, leaving the boxes in storage until Nov. 22. 

The donations were able to fill approximately 80% of a 20-foot container, providing necessary humanitarian aid to civilians in the Kherson province of Ukraine. 

“The team in Ukraine is ready and excited to distribute the items, which we hope will arrive in time for Orthodox Christmas,” said Seth Kinkade, project organizer. 

The Bonners Ferry Nazarene Church, the Rotary Clubs of Coeur d’Alene and Carmel-By-The-Sea donated over $8,000 to move the container to Romania. From there the packages will be transferred onto a train bound for Ukraine. 

Kinkade said the effort may be $500 to $1,000 short of moving the container from Romania to Ukraine, but that they are confident they will be able to secure those funds by the time the container crosses the ocean.

“Seeing how much our community donated was terrific, if not backbreaking, loading it all, and we are so thankful to local businesses like Riverside Auto and Kootenai River Brewing Company, the supporting churches and the many individual donors,” he said. 

The humanitarian aid was organized by Hope House of Boundary County, Bonners Ferry Rotary Club and Boulder Creek Retreat.