A Chester businessman has opened his doors as a community collection point for the Syrian refugee crisis
Adam Dandy and his team at Dandy’s Topsoil were so horrified at seeing the pictures of the body of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed up on a beach in Turkey earlier this month, they decided to do something to help.
The team then set up an official donation spot at his business on Sealand Road for people to donate clothing, shoes, bedding, toiletries, torches and tents.
Adam opened for donations on Monday last week (September 7) and within five days had filled a 20ft shipping container.
He said: “We saw that picture of that little lad and I’ve got a four-year-old and a nine-year-old and I just thought it’s just a nightmare.
“You think of the Mediterranean as a holiday destination and then you’ve got little children being washed up on the beach – it’s just horrific.
“The response has been nuts so far. People round here are so kind and go the extra mile to donate when they can.”
More than 1000 bags of donations have so far been donated including a collection made by pupils at Upton-by-Chester High School and Adam is now working closely with Flintshire County Council to arrange for the donations to be distributed to the relevant charities as quickly as possible.
He added: “I want to say a massive, massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to come down with donations and assure them that we will get all the donations to people who need it.”
