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For most kids, spending a morning in a warehouse loading boxes into a shipping container is a suboptimal way to spend a summer vacation day.

But even after five hours in 35 C weather with a group of volunteers, Anna Demchyshyn had an eager helper in her son Marko. “Three more boxes,” he shouted, wheeling his dolly around a corner and looking for more items to load.

The boxes were filled with items collected by volunteers or donated by local groups such as the Niagara Christian Gleaners out of Smithville or For the Needy Not the Greedy in Niagara Falls. There were important supplies like wheelchairs, walkers and crutches, dried foods and more.

More than five months after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, the need to help is stronger now than ever, supporters say. “We have people coming out of the hospital with no place to go,” said Anna Demchyshyn, president and founder of AMD for Hope. She, her children Marko and Danylo, and a small team of volunteers loaded up a shipping container bound for Poland, and ultimately the people of Ukraine.

Demchyshyn, a native of Ukraine who left Lviv and came to Canada two decades ago, fears the reality of war fatigue could set in as the brutal invasion nears the half-year mark. It’s an added problem because she said the need is higher now. With so much destruction, people in Ukraine are returning home only to realize they have no home, not to mention a grocery store or pharmacy or whatever else was destroyed by the fighting.

AMD for Hope has been helping both the people in Ukraine, and those who have fled and arrived in Canada. On Tuesday, July 19, they sent their third shipping container to help. In a few weeks it’ll arrive in Poland and from there the contents will be dispersed to people on the ground.

Jim Krawec, from St. Catharines, and his family provided the container. Krawec’s grandparents came to Canada from Ukraine at the turn of the 20th century. Even though it’s been more than 120 years since his family lived there, Krawec said they thought it was important to help. “It’s atrocious (what’s happening in Ukraine), so if you can help, then why not?” he said.

On top of the items not in the container, medical supplies such as antibiotics, asthma inhalers and diabetic mediation have been collected to be flown overseas. Leading that charge is Dr. Kenneth N. Taylor, his wife Denise, and Jane Gordon, of Not Just Tourists. They provide medical humanitarian aid and medical supplies. As a physician, Taylor can stretch a dollar further when it comes to medication and supplies. Take, for instance, the first aid kits they’ve assembled. “We can make these for a quarter of the cost of a commercial one,” said Denise. “The feedback from medical people is extremely positive.”

Though the attention may be on Ukraine, there’s also an added positive from the work being done here in Niagara, Demchyshyn said. During the past few months some of the organizations — who had previously operated independently largely under the radar — have come together and been able to help each other. For instance, there were some donations of summer clothing, which was something they don’t need in Ukraine. Instead, they’re being sent to Haiti where they can be put to good use.

“So we’re not only helping Ukraine,” said Demchyshyn.

For more information on AMD for Hope, visit amdforhope.com.

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