Toulouse: the MIN centralizes and dispatches humanitarian aid for Ukraine
The Toulouse MIN centralizes donations from individuals, companies and communities. After volunteers have sorted them, these objects are sent to the Lublin wholesale market in Poland where the Red Cross brings them to the refugees.
Baby milk powder, canapes, warm clothes, blankets, crutches, a wheelchair but also oil, dog food, medicine… Here are some of the donations that were made, this morning, at 3 impasse du Marché Gare, in Toulouse, by individuals.
This solidarity operation in favor of Ukraine, centralized at the MIN, aims to bring together donations from individuals, but also from professionals and local authorities on the same site to bring them as close as possible to the needy.
“We decided to centralize the donations first because logistics is our job. Here we have storage units, transporters and above all the ability to aggregate volumes. We are also united within the framework of the World Wholesale Markets Union, to which the Lublin wholesale market in Poland, located a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border, belongs. Thanks to the Jimenez Transport and Labatut groups, we are working as a relay to send donations to Ukrainian refugees via the Polish Red Cross”, announces Maguelone Pontier, general manager of the Toulouse MIN.
For the time being, donations are stored at the MIN, at the Comptoir à la Une, rented by Thomas Chérubin. For those who cannot come to the MIN, partner restaurants of Thomas Chérubin also collect donations in town and on the outskirts, at Lac du Bistroquet in Aussonne and at Bistroquet A La Une in Toulouse.
Then, a host of volunteers work to sort them out. This is the case of Marie-Christine, a volunteer nurse with the “White Hussars of Health”, who distributes the products in three boxes: baby and hygiene products, clothing and medicines. “I came because I wanted to participate in this great solidarity momentum,” explains the nurse.
Where to make in-kind and financial donations?
– the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the collective Ukraine Libre Toulouse organizes two collections per week: in Bruguières (97 Impasse de Toulouse), Monday to Friday (9 a.m. – 5.30 p.m.) and Saturday (2 p.m. – 5 p.m.) and in Toulouse ( 118 Route de Narbonne, Campus Paul Sabatier, Building 3PN), Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
– In Colomiers, the “Ukraine Solidarity Collection Center”, located avenue Yves-Brunaud, at the Capitany Sports Complex, is open on Wednesdays and Fridays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., to collect donations.
– The Red Cross calls for financial donations via the platform: https://donne.croix-rouge.fr/
“We also recover pasta, flour, canapes… which arrive on pallets from companies”, adds Nathalie Capdevielle. Director of the “Quai des étoiles” events agency, she proved to be involved in setting up this solidarity chain in favor of Ukraine, at the MIN, “that part of my family is because Ukraine “, she explains.
For its part, Civil Protection, which is responsible for collecting donations from town halls, is delighted with its partnership with the Grand Marché de Toulouse. “The MIN will help us insofar as our infrastructure is saturated in Toulouse. Thanks to this place, the Pink City becomes our regional base, especially since we have many requests from local authorities to help Ukraine”, specifies Tony Tacsin.
For the time being, it is recommended to give, in boxes indicating the content in English, food products (canned dried fruits, cereals, rice, pasta, oil, sugar, coffee, sweets, etc.), hygiene products (toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower gel, toilet paper, dishwashing liquid, etc.) and medical care (dressings, emergency blankets, disposable gloves, betadine, hydrogen peroxide, syringe, sterile compresses, etc.) and others (tarpaulins, bags- garbage cans, flashlights, etc.). In addition, the MIN is looking for volunteers to answer every day on its telephone platform and sort donations, Monday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.