'The least I can do': This Hamilton man is helping to charter supplies to Ukrainians in need
CBC
1,735.
That's how many boxes of donations Stefan Sobolewski has been responsible for sending off to Ukraine. And it's all done by cargo jets from the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.
Sobolewski, a Hamilton-based paralegal by day and humanitarian by night, got the idea after his employment at Cargojet.
"It was the calling of my heart to help out my fellow Ukrainian people in this very difficult time they are living through. I have Ukrainian roots and this is the least that I can do here to help," he said.
After speaking with the air operations manager at the airport in Mount Hope, just outside of the city, senior officials at Cargojet gave the green light to proceed with a Ukrainian humanitarian charter flight.
But in order to organize and sort what was going out on the jets, Sobolewski needed to secure a space — at least 1,000 square feet of it.
Since he's also an employee at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, he set up a meeting with CEO David Rohrer, who was quick to lend a hand.
The support he received from Cargojet and the museum was a "positive, big help," he said.
The team dispatched three chartered deliveries in March. A fourth is expected to go out this Saturday and another on April 30, Sobolewski says.
Originally, they were hoping for the planes to go every Saturday, but are now leaving to Ukraine once every two weeks or so.
"We want to focus more on certain medical supplies and hygiene and non-perishable foods," he said, as the reason to slow down the pace of deliveries.
Sobolewski's efforts come as individuals and organizations in Hamilton are supporting Ukraine in various ways.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress is hosting a fundraiser at the Westdale Theatre Thursday evening. Proceeds from the event will go to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, which will support their humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
Attendees will be able to listen to Ukrainian music and view an exhibition on Ukrainian history in Hamilton.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.
The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what's believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes.
The Liberal government and the NDP have agreed to introduce a two-month GST vacation on certain items before the holiday season, Radio-Canada has learned.
Veterinarians are warning Londoners to make sure their dogs are vaccinated and keeping clean after a deadly virus outbreak was declared in London this week.
Registered nurses rallied in St. John's Wednesday as part of a week-long convention, again calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to create permanent solutions to staff shortages and workplace violence.
New poll results released by Narrative Research suggest the Progressive Conservatives are heading into Tuesday's provincial election with a commanding lead over their political rivals.
A measles outbreak in New Brunswick is set to push Canada's annual case count to the highest it's been in five years, highlighting how infectious the disease is and how low vaccination rates have allowed it to take hold, says an immunologist.