Victoria Sponge Cake raises nearly £2,000 to help fund Ukraine convoy
A Victoria sponge cake auctioned at Thame Farmers Mart has helped raise nearly £2,000 towards funding a convoy of 15 vehicles and vital medical supplies that are being driven by volunteers to Ukraine to help deliver equipment to the front line and evacuate injured soldiers.
Peter Dunn, a shareholder in the market, is driving one of the vehicles and this is his second trip to Lviv which is around 1300 miles from his farm near Milton Keynes. Peter, who leaves with the convoy on April 11th, was delighted with the response from buyers at the market who bid for the cake baked by Charlotte Baxter, Thame Mart office and accounts manager.
The money raised is used to fund vehicle logistics, spares and medical kits and this is the 59th convoy that has been sent to Ukraine with the 4x4 vehicles delivered directly to the army workshops in Lviv.
Peter said: “Auctioneer Simon Draper did a great job and we raised, with other donations from the market, a total of £1,862. It was amusing how the cake was sold three or four times and there was a great atmosphere.
“We buy the vehicles and the 15 in this convoy will bring the total number of 4x4s sent to Ukraine from this area as part of Driving Ukraine to over 100. We load them up with workshop gear and for this trip we are also putting the funds raised towards four medical ruck sacks and two large critical incident medical kits, for front line.
“We do receive feedback on the vehicles we deliver directly from the soldiers and mechanics who paint spray the 4x4s before they head to the frontline.
“This trip is organised by Driving Ukraine with Olney Ukraine partnering and we are extremely grateful for all the donations and support we have received for this latest convoy. This visit includes a special aid box donated by Towcester Vets, including animal and human medical kits.”
It takes the convoy three days to reach Lviv, via the Channel tunnel through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Poland. Peter, who is driving a Land Rover Discovery with 183,000 miles on the clock to Lviv, will return using taxis to get to the Polish border followed by a flight from Krakow to Luton.
Thame Farmers Mart will be continuing its support for Driving Ukraine with another auction.
Peter said: “We are going to be auctioning pack of wormer provided by Barkers Animal Health to raise some more money next time. Other supporters are sponsoring us a £1 a mile and the hope is to be able to buy a recovery truck to rescue vehicles that have been damaged on the front line and get them back to be repaired.”