A REFUGEE group has urged people to donate cash and not clothes if they want to support those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
Sussex Aid For Refugees said it has received reports that items such as clothing are piling up at the border with Ukraine and such donations could end up going to waste.
A spokesman for the group said: “This is a very different situation to what we are used to supporting.
“People are being extremely well looked after by the hundreds of local NGOs and by the kindness of millions of local people, so driving cars and vans of clothing and toys over at the moment is not helpful.
“It adds to the already growing pile of unused donations and the money spent getting it all there could be used to buy stuff that’s actually needed.”
The group also said turning up randomly without prior discussions with a convoy of clothing and toys put “massive pressure” on charities on the ground that are already stretched.
“They need to be working to assist the Ukrainian and other nationalities fleeing, not cleaning up unsorted and unsolicited donations,” he said.
He urged residents in Sussex to donate what they can to charities supporting people during the humanitarian crisis.
It comes as a Polish community centre in London said it had been “overwhelmed” with donations from well-wishers who want to help Ukrainians forced to flee their homes.
Volunteers at the Polish White Eagle Club in Balham have sought donations of pillows, blankets, duvets, sanitary items, toys and first aid kits to send to the Polish/Ukrainian border.
However, the club said it was no longer calling for clothes donations after being flooded with boxes of items and being told by on-the-ground contacts that other donations were becoming more pressing.
A range of charities, including the British Red Cross, United Help Ukraine, the Disasters Emergency Committee and the Ukrainian Red Cross have all launched appeals for donations following the Russian invasion.
The UN estimates more than 800,000 civilians have left Ukraine since the outbreak of war last week.
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