Ukraine humanitarian aid donations fill Ottawa church; larger drop-off venue being considered

There was a steady flow of donations entering Ottawa’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral on Saturday, the latest show of support and solidarity from the nation’s capital to the people of Ukraine.

Cars and trucks lined Byron Avenue, each packed with bags, boxes and bins of humanitarian aid to be sent to Ukraine after its invasion by Russian forces two weeks ago.

Diapers, toilet paper, water bottles, clothes and more were piled up inside the church and outside as masked organizers accepted and sorted the hundreds of donated items.

“Everything from baby supplies to clothing to medical and emergency supplies,” said Alexandra Coghlan, who was making a donation.

The resident of Orléans, who had a “I Stand with Ukraine” heart sticker on her car window, said the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral – where she got married – was very special to her.

“Really incredible support from the community,” said Coghlan. “It’s amazing.”

Overwhelmed by the amount of donations, the church needed to pause its drop-off program earlier than expected Saturday while it made arrangements to find a larger drop-off venue. 

The fundraising and donation drive was organized by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and is scheduled to continue through next week.

“Today Ottawa came out loud and proud for the people of Ukraine,” said Olenka Reshitnyk-Bastian, who helped run the Ukraine aid relief program for the Ottawa chapter of the UCC. “It’s been amazing, it’s heartwarming, overwhelming. We’re so proud of Ottawa.

“We’re so sorry that we had to stop the donations from coming in. We just literally have no room to walk. Which, I mean, is that really a bad problem?”

Reshitnyk-Bastian says anyone hoping to contribute can visit the UCC website for updates on future drop-off venues, or when the church can begin accepting donations again.

“We hope to open this place up again but we do need the time and the manpower – that we have – to pack those up and get it out,” she said. “So that we can continue to accept your donations until Friday.”