A forklift truck has been donated to a South Holland charity to help its humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
Boxes of Hope was formed when Russia invaded and has been working ever since to send aid to the country.
Toyota Material Handling has donated a forklift to help the charity move goods around the warehouse and load the lorries with vital supplies.
Charity founder Mandy Baxter said: “The truck will make a huge difference to the way that we work. It now takes about a third of the time to load a lorry than it did.
“The volunteers who were previously required to help can focus on other tasks, so we are able to make the most of the time they kindly give us.”
The forklift has been vinyl wrapped by Bott Ltd, in the charity’s branding including the Union Jack and Ukraine’s flag.
“We are very grateful to Toyota for everything they are doing to support our work. Having a forklift allows us to operate more efficiently and, ultimately, lets us send more aid to the people who are desperately in need,” said Mandy (pictured).
Toyota was approach by a former TMH employee who told the company what the charity was doing.
The company’s Used and Trade Operations Manager Amanda Rodger contacted Mandy to tell her about the donation, which came with complimentary service and maintenance support.
Boxes of Hope, which operates out of Fleet Hargate, has sent 16 lorries packed with aid so far.
Mandy has been several times and sees the deliveries arrive with the recipients.
“My visits have changed my life. I will never forget the look on the faces of the soldiers I met at Lviv military hospital. They experienced things nobody should go through”, she said.
Originally the founders hoped to remain helping for three months and are heading to the first anniversary.
