A Toronto couple has turned their advertising studio into a hub for hundreds of thousands of donations, all bound for Ukraine and Ukrainians who've fled their country.
"We've got heaps of things arriving," donations co-organizer Blaine Pearson told CTV National News. "And tons of volunteers who've pitched in to help sort and repack items."
Pearson and her husband Jason van Bruggen run Toronto ad agency Dot Dot Dash. They're leading an effort to fill a cargo plane with supplies, some of which are set for refugees who've fled to Poland, while others are bound for the front lines in Ukraine.
On Feb. 25, less than 48 hours after Russia's invasion began, the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR estimated more than 50,000 people had fled Ukraine.
Just over two weeks later, the UN now estimates that there are at least 1.85 million people displaced within Ukraine and 12.65 million people directly affected by the conflict.
Meanwhile, the number of refugees in countries neighbouring Ukraine has exceeded 2.5 million, the UNHCR said, and as those numbers increased, needs changed.
"We've gone from food supplies and warm clothing last week, which were in demand, now to only really critical first aid supplies," van Bruggen said. "Body armour is the current priority."
Van Bruggen, who has a background in military contract work and has been in warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan, said he has seen human suffering on a large scale. He said when the conflict broke out, his first thought was to take a more direct approach.
"My first instinct was to go over there and help fight, to join the conflict in some useful way," van Bruggen said. "But it struck me that rather than put myself on the plane, I could put a lot of things that were needed on the plane."
Pearson and van Bruggen put out the call for donations a week ago as part of what they're calling a "resistance from a distance," and have now received so many they've already filled and emptied their office twice.
They're now storing donations in a warehouse until they can be loaded on the plane and shipped off to refugees and to the front line.
"It's become a round-the-clock, full-time job for the two of us, but happily so," Pearson said. "I think people are looking for a way to contribute and I think it's a beautiful to see."
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
A new report suggests that Canadians' exposure to a radioactive gas is increasing, putting millions of people at a higher risk of developing lung cancer.
The XEC strain, a hybrid of Omicron subvariants KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, was first detected in Canada in mid-August and the number of COVID-19 cases with the XEC variant has rapidly increased.
The Bank of Montreal has confirmed an outage impacting online services via the bank's website.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face down his own caucus members in a hotly anticipated meeting this morning, as several of them plan to try to convince him to step aside.
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The Bank of Montreal has confirmed an outage impacting online services via the bank's website.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
A new report suggests that Canadians' exposure to a radioactive gas is increasing, putting millions of people at a higher risk of developing lung cancer.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
The majority of Monday’s snow melted on Tuesday thanks to some sunny weather, and road conditions vastly improved in and around Calgary.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
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Cool mornings and mild afternoons through the rest of this week in Edmonton and area.
The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.
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The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
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Ontario Provincial Police are looking for a missing teenager from Goderich.
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Greater Sudbury has ended the employment of CAO Ed Archer, Mayor Paul Lefebvre announced suddenly Tuesday evening
The Bank of Montreal has confirmed an outage impacting online services via the bank's website.
Police have confirmed the body of an employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax over the weekend was found in a walk-in oven.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face down his own caucus members in a hotly anticipated meeting this morning, as several of them plan to try to convince him to step aside.
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A day after after an E. coli outbreak tied to Quarter Pounders in the western part of the United States left one dead and 10 hospitalized, McDonald’s entered full damage-control mode.
The XEC strain, a hybrid of Omicron subvariants KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, was first detected in Canada in mid-August and the number of COVID-19 cases with the XEC variant has rapidly increased.
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The Bank of Canada made a sizable cut to its key lending rate Wednesday from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent as the global economy continues to expand. The half percentage point cut is the fourth rate cut in a row by the central bank as inflation dropped from 2.7 per cent in June to 1.6 per cent in September.
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The Bank of Montreal has confirmed an outage impacting online services via the bank's website.
A Manitoba company competed against the cream of the crop at the world's largest dairy expo and came out the big cheese.
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