Ukraine appeal: Reading man sends two lorries of supplies to victims

Ronnie Goodberry was moved to tears by the generosity of people in his Woodley neighborhood, who have been arriving every twenty minutes to hand over supplies for the victims of Russia’s invasion.

He explained how he felt he had to act after watching a Ukrainian girl sat amidst the rubble of her town on TV on Wednesday (March 2).

“She couldn’t have been more than seven years old. She was sat on the pavement - you could see a derelict building in the background – with her hands on her head and she was crying,” said Mr Goodberry.

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“Tears rolling down here face. I thought 'that’s it I’m going to start getting some donations in.'”

The next day he began campaigning on Facebook using contacts he’d built after setting up a Covid volunteer support group which has seen 213,000 items redistributed to people in Reading since the pandemic began.

“It’s just gone bigger and bigger and now I’ve got no space in my front room,” he said, before the doorbell interrupted him and a woman arrived with a bag of nappies.

Ronnie Goodberry holds two baby blankets, donated to him brand new last week

“Yesterday I had 200 brand-spanking-new baby blankets delivered. It must have cost hundreds and hundreds of pounds of this person’s money, but they gave it.

Read more: Stunning video shows Reading's amazing level of support for Ukrainians

“It chokes me up. If you’re not moved by that sort of donation then there’s something wrong. These people have put their hands in their pockets time and time again for people they don’t even know.

“They’re total strangers and worlds apart. 2,500 miles away, they don’t know them, but they’re giving this stuff.

“It gives you more than a little bit of hope. It’s overwhelming. The generosity of not just Reading but people in the whole of the UK has been fantastic.”

You can contact Mr Goodberry, who won a Pride of Reading Award during the pandemic, and donate through his Facebook page.

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians attempting to flee to safety were forced to shelter from what Ukrainian officials said was Russian shelling in cities in the centre, north and south.

“They’ve invaded an innocent country. Millions of people are being dispersed and fleeing conflict. In this day and age, just like going hungry, it shouldn’t happen,” said Mr Goodberry.

He added that anyone wishing to donate should avoid adult clothing and focus on medical supplies, toiletries, nappies, baby clothes and dried food.