Courtesy / Retail Association of Maine
Retail and tourism associations in Maine shipped 40,000 pounds of goods.
May 26, 2022
Retail and tourism associations send 40,000 pounds of aid to Ukraine
Courtesy / Retail Association of Maine
Curtis Picard, left, and Tony Cameron led a joint effort to collect goods for Ukraine.
By Staff
In a joint effort, the Retail Association of Maine and the Maine Tourism Association this week shipped nearly 40,000 pounds of food, clothing and household goods to help the people of war-torn Ukraine, the business groups said.
The aid is one result of From Maine to Ukraine, launched in March by the associations to collect and donate much-needed supplies from the state's retailers, tourism and hospitality businesses and everyday Mainers.
The donated goods were consolidated at the Maine Tourism Association warehouse and on Monday headed to a Ukrainian shipping company in New Jersey. Hancock Lumber provided trucks to transport the items and donated funds to help defray the cost of shipping overseas.
The supplies go to Lviv, Ukraine, for final distribution. The two associations collaborated with the Association of Retailers of Ukraine on the initiative.
The goods fill nearly three shipping containers.
“When we launched this project, we had no idea how much we would collect,” Curtis Picard, president and CEO of the Retail Association of Maine, said in a news release. “In addition to the locations that we set up, some people set up their own collection locations, and the donations poured in.”
Thousands of Maine people donated multiple pallets of food, pet food, housewares and clothing.
“Our staff collected goods at the Maine Visitor Information Centers, and we had so many staff and volunteers help consolidate, and sort the items for shipping,” said Tony Cameron, CEO of the Maine Tourism Association.
A number of donations included handwritten notes.
“Some were even written in both English and Ukrainian. We didn’t open any of them, but packed them carefully in the shipment,” said Picard.
The associations are no longer accepting donations of food and clothing. However, the retail association is accepting monetary donations through its 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Maine Business Education Partnership.
All funds raised will go toward the Ukraine relief program to help cover the cost of shipping the goods overseas, with remaining proceeds to be donated to the Partnership for World Health, a Scarborough nonprofit organization that is collecting and delivering medical equipment to Ukraine and other places around the world.
For more information, click here.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments