A Norfolk businessman is set to take a 3200-mile round trip to the Ukrainian border this month to take humanitarian aid to refugees fleeing to Poland.
Kevin Foley, who owns K Foley Ltd, a company operating 10 McDonald’s franchises across the county, is appealing for help to fill an extra-long wheelbase van with emergency supplies being collected through an Amazon wishlist.
These include 20 first aid kits, 1,000 trauma dressings, 4,000 bandage rolls, 500 burn dressings, 500 energy gels, 2,400 foil blankets and 150 sleeping bags.
Kevin, who will make the trip in a small convoy, said: “None of us can fail to be moved by the ongoing plight of Ukrainian families as they desperately try to flee across the Polish borders.
“I find it hard to contemplate how devastating it must be to leave your worldly goods behind and start from scratch while trying to mend broken hearts and acclimatise to a new reality.
“Some of my staff have been asking how they can help and, although we have donated money and supported other volunteer efforts, I have been asking myself the same thing. What could I actually do that could make a difference?
“This is why I decided that the best course of action was to do something really concrete – something that saw us deliver help directly to the frontline – to the people who really need it.”
After speaking to aid workers already on the border of Poland and Ukraine, Kevin, who employs 1,300 staff at his McDonald’s branches, created a Ukrainian Wishlist on Amazon detailing items in short supply.
People can choose to purchase one item or several and have these delivered directly to K Foley Ltd where they will be loaded on to the lorry ahead of the April 10th trip.
The journey will take Kevin 1,632 miles through Holland, Germany and Poland, which shares a 310-mile border with Ukraine, and will take him two days.
More than a million people have crossed from Ukraine into Poland since the Russian invasion began on 24 February and Poland has taken in the majority of the 1.7 million people who have left their homes since the war began, with aid efforts largely operated by volunteers, as well as NGOs and municipalities.
Kevin said: “This is the biggest refugee crises we have seen since the second world war and I think it’s incredible how many people are stepping up and coming together to try and help.
“As I understand it, the organisation of humanitarian aid has been mostly addressed by individuals and ad hoc initiatives so I’m not sure what the situation will be like when I arrive.
“I think there are four or five checkpoints where refugees are processed and I know that every single thing we are collecting will be hugely beneficial to those people arriving with nothing in freezing temperatures, sometimes with urgent medical needs.”
To purchase an item off the Ukrainian wishlist visit https://amzn.eu/gJxC6zD and order before the end of March.
The delivery address for anything ordered is K Foley Ltd, Unit 22 Kingsway, Norwich NR2 4UE.
About K Foley Ltd
K Foley Ltd was established in 1999 after Kevin Foley bought his first franchise restaurant, the Tuckswood branch from his father, Terry. Terry was the UK’s first franchisee and Kevin is McDonald’s first UK second-generation franchisee – and remains the only one to date.
K Foley Ltd operates across the East of England – predominantly in Norfolk – and employs approximately 1,100 people who range from 16 to 80 years of age.
There are currently 10 restaurants under the K Foley Ltd brand including Asda Great Yarmouth, Regent Rd, Great Yarmouth, Gapton Hall Retail, Tuckswood, Norwich Airport, Broadland Gate, Brundall (Broadlands), Snetterton, Cromer and Beccles.
FB: @kfoleyltd
Insta: @kfoleyltd
