Peterborough’s Yours Clothing to donate £250,000 to help war-torn Ukraine

Yours Clothing, in Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate, plans to raise £150,000 from the sale of special T-shirts and bags with company boss Andrew Killingsworth donating the remaining £100,000.

The money will go to the British Red Cross which is already deeply involved in the work to help many thousands of Ukrainian refugees as they flee to save havens across Europe.

And Mr Killingsworth has vowed to offer jobs in the business, where posible, to Ukrainians who arrive in the UK under the Government’s new help measures.

Mr Killingsworth, who employs about 1,300 people at Yours Clothing, which has its headquarters in Peterborough and scores of shops across the UK, said: “As a retail group and collectively as colleagues, customers and friends, we are deeply saddened by the crisis that has been unfolding over the last few weeks in the Ukraine.

“Seeing the plight of innocent people losing their homes, loved ones and lives as well as

being separated from those they love and need to be near at times like this, is extremely distressing.

He said: “Our colleagues have been donating large quantities of items for the refugees and those who remain in the country, from medication and first aid items to food and hygiene

products for babies and adults.

“The cause has really touched them and today, on behalf of all colleagues, customers and friends, we shall be making an immediate donation of £100,000 to the British Red Cross to assist with their invaluable support.

“Our commitment to the Red Cross is to raise even more with a minimum total of £250,000

in the coming weeks to be donated with 100 per cent of all proceeds of our charitable items

that are currently on sale and fundraising which will be further topped up with personal

donations to make this possible.”

He said: “For the many millions of people displaced in the crisis, we know that those who find their way to the UK will be welcomed and we will commit to creating opportunities for work

wherever we can in our network and provide them with the support they may need as

they settle in this new home until they can safely return.

The conflict has meant an anxious time for Mr Killingsworth’s family. His fiancee, Natasha Kucherova (43), has told of her worry for her elderly parents who are living in a town outside Kyiv and are unable to leave Ukraine. Her daughter-in-law and one-year-old grandson faced a difficult journey as they left Ukraine for the Czech Republic.

Mr Killingsworth said: “We are very grateful to be a mechanism for all of our colleagues, customers and friends to help in a small way and we thank every single one of them for their generosity and trusting us to be part of an inspiring process.

“We urge as many other organisations like ourselves, wherever possible, to consider doing whatever is within their capabilities as we also continue to find more ways in which we can help make a difference.

“Our thoughts go out to all those impacted and affected by the Ukraine crises.”

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