Castleton Community Centre donates £1,000 to local Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain branch

L-R: Harold Appleby, chair of the Castleton Community Centre; Lynn Ashworth, secretary; Olga Kurtianyk, chair of the AUGB in Rochdale; Sue Simpson, community centre member; Frank Cryer, committee member and Councillor Billy Sheerin

Volunteer committee members of Castleton Community Centre have donated £1,000 to the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (Rochdale branch).

The donation was made by the community centre chair, Harold Appleby, to Olga Kurtianyk, chair of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (Rochdale branch) to help support the desperate needs of the people of Ukraine.

The AUGB is the main representative body for Ukrainians and those of Ukrainian descent. It exists to develop, promote and support the interests of the Ukrainian community in Great Britain. The Rochdale branch was founded in 1948.

Mr Appleby said: “We considered it was the right thing to do in donating as much as we possibly could to help the plight of the people of Ukraine in these dreadful times.”

Mrs Kurtianyk said: “The Ukrainian community in Rochdale extend their grateful thanks to all who use Castleton Community Centre. Their generous donation of £1,000 will be put to good use by our aid partners in Ukraine and will buy basic emergency medicine packs for up to 750 people for three months. These medical packs comply with specifications set by the World Health Organization.

“Donations are vitally important as they allow us to help - in the short term and with the longer-term impact of hostilities, displacements and poverty on families, children, the elderly and those with special needs.”