THE INDEPENDENT family-run funeral director, William Purves, has launched a”Warm Welcome Appeal” to encourage locals to donate winter clothing to displaced Ukrainians arriving in Edinburgh daily having fled the war in their country.
The Edinburgh headquartered funeral director promises to ‘match one, with one’, doubling the total donations that are dropped off at the Ukrainian Welcome Centre at Gogarburn.
Since February 2022, Edinburgh has welcomed over 10,000 displaced Ukrainians to the Welcome Centre at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s headquarters at Gogarburn. The centre is the first step on a journey of temporary resettlement in Scotland.
William Purves is appealing to local communities in Marchmont, Morningside, Chesser, Currie, Penicuik, Goldenacre and Dalkeith to donate coats, scarves, hats, and gloves to their local branch.
Colin Brown, William Purves’ Company Director, said:
“We have all felt the recent drop in temperature. For Ukrainian people arriving in Scotland without the essentials, the cold is unbearable. There is an urgent need for coats, scarves, hats, gloves and shoes to support them through the winter.
“William Purves matches and transports all donations from our branches to the Welcome Centre to ensure Ukrainians arriving in Edinburgh receive the warm welcome they so deserve.”
Hannah Beaton-Hawryluk, Chair of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB) in Edinburgh, said:
“Over the last few weeks, many Ukrainians have arrived in Edinburgh without sufficient winter clothing or with the last pieces of their summer wardrobe they left home with. Thank you to William Purves for the support through their Warm Welcome Appeal – all donations will go a long way to supporting Ukrainians living in Edinburgh.”
You can give your donation to one of William Purves’ branches at Marchmont, Morningside, Chesser, Currie, Penicuik, Goldenacre, and Dalkeith until the 31st March 2023.
William Purves will match each item with stock from charity and local retailers and deliver the clothing to the Ukrainian Welcome Centre at Gogarburn.
