Local church collects supplies for Ukraine

Published 5:11 pm Friday, March 31, 2023

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By JOYANNA LOVE | Managing Editor

A Bible study group at Grace Fellowship Church recently organized a supply drive to send needed supplies to Ukraine as a part of Mission to the World’s Crates for Ukraine.

“Our Bible study was looking for kind of a service project to do, and so the ladies were gracious enough to say, ‘Let’s head that up,’” Rebecca Corley said of the local Crates for Ukraine supply drive.

Members of Grace Fellowship Church (PCA) and the community donated money and items for the crates. The group created an Amazon wish list and reached out to friends on social media to secure what the missionary team in Ukraine said was needed.

“They had very specific requests for items,” Kelli Smith said. “… A lot of them were like military grade medical supplies and things for the cold, wound care.”

In total, supplies filled four crates, holding 27 gallons. Corley said supplies were divided by type of supplies. One was specifically medical supplies. Another was hygiene items and thermal underwear. Sleeping bags designed for cold weather were also collected.

“The Lord provided over $5,000 between supplies and funds to buy supplies,” Corley said.

Organizers said it was a bit overwhelming.

“God really came through,” Smith said. “Just generosity, people sacrificed to be able to provide the specific things.”

From the church, the crates went to Chattanooga, where they were shipped to Europe. The missions team in Lviv keeps the supplies in a warehouse and distributes it where it needs to go, Corley said.

“It is going all over Ukraine,” Corley said. “They have had soldiers come back to that church, …

Church of the Holy Trinity, it’s a Presbyterian church in Lviv … just show up and be like, ‘Hey, I just needed to tell someone that a tourniquet or a wound care kit from one of your boxes saved my life.’”

She said she enjoyed being able to “be the hands and feet of Jesus,” while helping another church to serve their community and country.

Crates for Ukraine has a website with a map of where donations have been distributed to.

This most recent campaign was from January-March with 1,360 total crates sent from the United States.

More information is available at https://www.cratesforukraine.com .