Weston PTO Drive to Support Ukrainian Refugees: Here’s How to Help
NOTE: Update 3:51 pm. Two readers have contacted The Owl based on feedback in an NPR article that suggests that donations of the clothing variety are not what is needed at this moment. Make your own decision, and read the NPR article here.
The Weston PTO and Give Back Box have teamed up to support the over 2 million Ukrainian refugees who fled to Poland with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Here’s how to help:
- pack a box weighing up to 40 lbs of clothes, shoes and blankets ONLY (in new or very good condition).
- next, get a UPS shipping label. The PTO has 150 FREE labels available – email here to request one or click here to purchase a label for $15.
- drop your box(es) off at any UPS Store. If you need a pick-up, please send a note to thewestonowl@gmail.com to be linked to the PTO representatives. Boxes will be shipped to Chicago and then loaded onto a container to Poland.
If you can’t ship a box or want to do more, donate here to help defray the $5,000 cost of shipping a container to Poland.
Questions? Go to Give Back Box.
Read this post immediately after reading this story on the NPR website. Sounds like they don’t necessarily want more clothing donations. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/03/22/1088005415/donated-clothes-help-in-ukraine-but-heres-one-thing-aid-experts-like-better?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20220323&utm_term=6472203&utm_campaign=news&utm_id=34978110&orgid=396&utm_att1=
You are the second person to tell me this today. I think I will add a disclaimer to the page (and the link) and let peope decide. The PTO should probably be alerted as well.