A Huddersfield businessman who has completed many aid missions to Ukraine is to help children at an orphanage out there this Christmas … but needs your help.

Tim Marsden and his partner Deborah run the group Huddersfield to Ukraine Humanitarian Aid and are constantly organising help for Ukraine, either arranging or driving vehicles on the 3,000-mile round trip every six weeks or so. Their last trip was in October.

Tim, 63, of Holmfirth, owns the St Andrews Motor Company on Leeds Road, Huddersfield, and first decided he had to act after seeing the horrendous news coverage once Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 so set up Huddersfield to Ukraine Humanitarian Aid.

Tim said: “We are gearing up for a special trip to deliver presents to an orphanage in Ukraine. Although the orphanage is doing a wonderful job taking care of the children there, giving them what they need to thrive and showering them with love, sadly, this doesn’t take away from the heart-breaking circumstances that have landed them there nor the atrocities they have witnessed at such a young age.

“Many of the children arrive at the orphanage from war zones with absolutely nothing – no parents, no home, no identity and no idea of what will happen to them next.”

Tim hopes the presents for these children will help restore a little bit of their hope but, most importantly, distract them from the heartbreak they’ve faced and remind them what it’s like to be a child enjoying the magic of Christmas again.

Huddersfield to Ukraine Humanitarian Aid has set up a GoFundMe page at https://gofund.me/fdb777d7

There are a range of options to donate:

• Donate what you can afford to support the group’s ongoing efforts.

• Donate £20 and your donation will go towards the orphanage trip. You’ll receive an email newsletter with details about the trip as a thank you.

• Donate £50 and your donation will go towards supporting and delivering Christmas presents to a child from the orphanage. You’ll receive a thank you from the child, as well as an email newsletter about the trip.

• Finally, donate £70 or more and your donation will go towards both the trip as well as supporting and delivering Christmas presents to a child from the orphanage. You’ll receive a thank you from the child, as well as an email newsletter with details about the trip and a certificate.

Anyone donating £20 or more and would like to receive the email newsletter needs to message the group’s Facebook page with their email address at https://www.facebook.com/HuddersfieldToUkraineHumanitarianAid/

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.