For weeks, Montrealers have been donating food, clothing and medical supplies to Ukraine — but without the funds to fly them out, many of these donations are still in storage.
At the Ukranian Catholic Church of St-Michael, a small army of volunteers is working non-stop stacking and sorting donations, which are sent to a warehouse in Dorval.
The problem is, all that aid can’t get off the ground.
“The church itself doesn’t have the money to do it all,” said volunteer Serge Lebel.
The cost of transporting the donations, which estimated to weigh at least 20 tonnes, is upwards of $100,000.
Oleksiy Pivtorak, the son of a priest at the church, says the government needs to step in.
“There is frustration from people. As civilians, we do the work but the government can’t even help to send it to Ukraine,” he said.
The federal government has pledged more than $100 million in aid to Ukraine, but volunteers here want to see Ottawa do more — to get the aid that’s already been collected into the hands of those who so desperately need it.