Supporting Ukraine with Pick-ups for Peace

Hectare board member Matt Dobbs and Pure co-founder Ed Bentley

After a close friend of mine with family in Ukraine told me about the devastation the Russian invasion was having on the lives of ordinary people, I wanted to assist in providing aid.

Having heard about the plight of Ukrainians, I felt sorry for innocent people caught up in the conflict. Regardless of politics, it's a humanitarian disaster and I wanted to provide practical help.

So I helped set up Pick-Ups For Peace, a charity organisation aiming to send 100 pick-up trucks to Ukraine by the end of May.

The trucks will be filled with humanitarian equipment, vehicle spares and generators and will be used to help evacuate civilians from the front line, provide power to affected communities and transport the wounded to medical facilities.

Together with Pure co-founder Ed Bentley, a close friend with strong ties to the farming community, I helped raise the funds for three pick-ups and last week delivered them to Lviv in Ukraine before they are transported on to the eastern front.

The organisation has now delivered 78 pick-up trucks to Ukraine - and we want to send more.

We’re not alone, as our next trip will be accompanied by four former British Lion rugby internationals and a documentary film crew!

Pick-ups for Peace is keen to hear from anyone who could donate a pick-up, equipment or money to support future missions.

We would be delighted to receive any support and those wishing to donate can do so via our Just Giving page. All funds raised will provide direct practical support. This mission has given our group a common purpose......certainly very different from our day-jobs!

To learn more about the Pick-ups for Peace programme, check out the P4P Initiative. Donations can be made through our JustGiving page. Thank you.

By Matt Dobbs, Board member at Hectare