Staff, students and friends of Bridgwater & Taunton College (BTC) came together in record time to collect a range of essentials for Ukrainian refugees.
The collection was announced on Tuesday of this week and by Thursday morning BTC’s Bridgwater, Taunton and Cannington campuses had been flooded with donations from not only staff and students but friends, family and members of the local community too.
Items including toiletries, painkillers, first aid kits, batteries and supplies for babies and children were boxed up by volunteers from the BTC Students’ Union and Sport and Foundation Learning students ready for despatch.
Student Lifestyle Team Leader, Molly Ardren, said: “The collection only started on Tuesday and had a really quick turnaround of just two days, so the response has been unreal. Not just staff and students, but friends and family and local people have all been contributing essential items which will help those in great need. The students have worked really hard to organise the donations and box everything up ready for delivery. The kindness shown by everyone involved has been amazing.”
Director of Student Services, Mark Nettle, said “As an organisation, BTC is very concerned about the situation in Ukraine and is actively exploring ways in which we can support the refugees from this crisis. I am incredibly proud of the way our students and staff have responded to this call for humanitarian support and how it has brought us together with the wider community. Many people have felt helpless watching the situation unfold and hearing the heart-breaking stories of ordinary people caught up in the crisis, so it’s a privilege to be able to give everyone a way to help. In many ways, it’s BTC Advantage in action.”
BTC hopes to run more collections in the future and raise money to help refugees. The college will also be taking part in the Somerset-wide Wear Yellow and Blue Day today (Friday) to show its support for the victims of the crisis in Ukraine.
For more information about the fundraising and other charity work that BTC students get involved in, please visit www.btc.ac.uk.
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