Ukraine Breast Milk Bank Desperately needed!
A team of local individuals, led by retired Langford Fire Chief and humanitarian Bob Beckett, are working together to raise funds to purchase medical equipment to create a desperately needed Breast Milk Bank for the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Children's Hospital in Ukraine.
The past two years of this horrific war in Ukraine has resulted in a tenfold increase in the number of trauma related premature babies being born in Ukraine with the resulting difficulty in mothers being able to produce sufficient breast milk for their babies.
The equipment that these funds will purchase include:
- Human Milk Analyzer,
- Pasteurizer
- Medical Freezer
- Pharmaceutical Refrigerator.
A “Go Fund Me” page has been set up with a project goal of $50,000. Please select the Donate Now button above or link here. For more information regarding the project please contact:
- Bruce Brown 250-888-7062 bmbis@shaw.ca
- Bob Beckett 250-818-2791 bob.beckett@outlook.com
School to Shkola, Keeping THE Lights On
Mayor Kevin Murdoch (District of Oak Bay) and Principal Shawn Boulding (Oak Bay High) are working to support two Ukrainian High Schools facing regular power outages due to the ongoing Russian invasion and attacks on civilian infrastructure.
The Goal: The Mayor and Principal are calling on Oak Bay High families and all those who understand the importance of education to help fundraise $20,000 needed to buy two generators for two high schools in Ukraine. This funding will go directly to the purchase and installation in Ukraine. The generators will allow power to continue through the school day, and help high school students in Ukraine get the education they need and deserve.
Background: This fundraiser will align with a larger aid package, the third put together by Westshore community groups to bring medical equipment and other humanitarian aid to Ukraine. In a previous trip, Bob Beckett (former Langford Fire Chief) developed a connection with Mayor Pas from Kamin Kashyrsk, a Ukrainian town near the Belarus border. Mayor Pas formally requested assistance to procure two diesel generators to keep children in school doing the constant roaming power outages. Oak Bay is looking to support that community in their time of need. The money will be used to purchase the generators in Ukraine or in Poland and install them at the two high schools.
To Donate: The Principal and Mayor are asking the Oak Bay and broader community to donate to the “School to Shkola Keeping Lights On” initiative.
About Vancouver Island Supports Ukraine
Our Mission
On our first deployment to Ukraine in June 2022, we partnered with GlobalMedic Canada to provide food and meals for over 81,000 internally displaced Ukrainians. Over $400,000 was raised locally for this endeavour.
In February 2023, we focused on providing medical equipment to area hospitals, educational school supplies, and fire rescue equipment.
In November 2023 the team continued to build on relationships with doctors, teachers families and students to:
- Deliver 14 pallets of supplies and equipment to hospitals
- Distribute 50K of medical supplies to hospitals
- Provide laptops to hospitals to access centralized medical information and enhanced patient data
- Provide 2 Diesel generators for high schools experiencing regular power interruption and outages
- Deliver "comfort" backpacks to temporary shelter location for women and children
- Provide a school bus to transport children to school from schools with no bomb shelter so they can attend school
- provide 500 notebooks to children who cannot attend school and must attend school remotely
- Meet 4 students to be hosted by SD62 international program & Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre Spring 2024
Our History
A group of Greater Victoria volunteers began working together following the attack on the world trade center. Responding to international natural and man made disasters around the world in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Belize, Mexico, Haiti, New Orleans, and currently Ukraine. The team is lead by former Langford Fire Chief Bob Beckett.
Our Team
The team is comprised of dedicated individuals in our community who are passionate about making a difference. The team is supported by:
- GlobalMedic,
- WUNDERfund Canada,
- Ukraine Medicine in Action,
- Ukraine Medical Support
- Victoria Hand Project
- Hope Foundation
How you Can Help
Your contributions are greatly appreciated, and will help us meet our fundraising goals