(Photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash)
March 8, 2022 By Allie Griffin
Queens residents can donate supplies to Ukrainians under the daily threat of Russian violence without leaving the borough.
Several Queens officials are collecting donations of medical supplies, food, clothes, toiletries and other necessities to send overseas to Ukrainian families as they face Russian forces or flee their homeland.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards is accepting medical supplies for those who remain in Ukraine, while eight Queens council members are collecting a variety of items for Ukrainian refugees in Poland.
Richards launched the medical supply drive Monday and is accepting donations of first-aid kits, bandages, gauze, tourniquets and over-the-counter medications like Aspirin, Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen at Queens Borough Hall through March 11. Residents can drop items into a box next to the lobby security desk at borough hall, located at 120-55 Queens Blvd. in Kew Gardens at any time.
The items will be delivered to the NYPD, which is holding a medical supply drive of its own at all 77 precincts through March 11. The supplies will be distributed to a verified non-profit on the ground in Ukraine.
“Those who have remained in Ukraine are in desperate need of medical supplies, especially as the Russian government recklessly escalates its brutality against the local population,” Richards said in a statement. “The Queens Borough President’s Office is proud to do our part and help collect critically important medical supplies, and we encourage all Queens residents to consider donating in support of the proud and courageous Ukrainian people who have inspired us all.”
Meanwhile, Council Members James Gennaro and Robert Holden are spearheading a drive for Ukrainian refugees who fled to Rzeszow, a Polish city near the Ukrainian border.
“I was deeply moved when I saw the atrocities taking place in Ukraine, and was compelled to help,” Gennaro said in a statement. “It is an honor and a privilege to help organize this drive, which I hope will yield many useful donations for the people who have been displaced by this needless bloodshed.”
Holden, Gennaro and fellow Council Members Vickie Paladino, Selvena Brooks-Powers, Linda Lee, Nantasha Williams, Sandra Ung and Francisco Moya are each accepting donations of canned food, clothing, sealed pet food, toiletries and children’s toys that will go to the refugees in Poland (without batteries).
Some of the most in-demand items are non-perishable food, clothes, shoes, thermal underwear, hygiene products, blankets, bedding, disposable table wear, first-aid kits, tents, mattresses, sleeping bags, standalone lamps and candles.
Ung said the Russian invasion of Ukraine hits home for her, so she was eager to help with the drive. Her family fled Cambodia to escape the Khmer Rouge and went to Taiwan.
“As someone who knows what it’s like to be forced to flee their homeland to escape the ravages of war, I feel the pain of the over one million Ukrainians who have been forced to flee to Poland to escape Russian aggression,” she said in a statement. “I am urging residents across Queens to donate what they can to show the people of Ukraine they are not alone.”
The council members will be accepting donations at the following locations during the below dates and times.
Paladino: March 7-11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 20-15 Francis Lewis Blvd. in Whitestone
Brooks-Powers: March 7-11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 1931 Mott Ave., Suite 410 in Far Rockaway
Lee: March 7-11, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 73-03 Bell Blvd. in Oakland Gardens
Williams: March 7-11, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 122-05 Smith St. in Jamaica
Ung: March 7-11, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 135-27 38th Ave., Suite 388 in Flushing
Gennaro and the CHAZAQ Organization: March 10, 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at 141-47 72nd Ave. in Kew Gardens Hills
Moya: March 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 106-01 Corona Ave. in Corona
Holden and the Associazone Culturale Italiana Di New York: March 12-13, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 66-31 Fresh Pond Rd. in Ridgewood
The Associazione Culturale Italiana Di New York is covering the shipment costs and the Polish Consulate, together with Rzeszow President Konrad Fijolek are coordinating the final delivery and ensuring the donations go directly to Ukrainian refugees in the city.
