Fundraising event for Ukraine being held at Bolton bookstore

August 4, 2022 · 0 Comments

Former Caledon man, now living in Ukraine, is visiting to give a talk

By Zachary Roman

A former Caledon resident who’s now living in Ukraine is fundraising to get critical medical supplies to the country’s troops.

As Russia continues its illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Kevin Leach is leading Project Volya, a mission to get Ukrainian soldiers life-saving resources to survive their fight against Russia. Leach is collaborating with other Canadians for his project.

Leach noted allied governments are doing a good job of providing heavy equipment, but small organizations like his are valuable for addressing the needs of individual soldiers on a smaller scale. Project Volya is bringing Ukrainian soldiers things like hemostatic gauze, which is used to pack into a wound left by projectiles or shrapnel. The gauze helps absorb blood and prevent lethal internal bleeding.

Leach moved to Kyiv, Ukraine in May 2018. Since the February 2022 Russian invasion, Leach has been working on the ground with local friends to connect incoming medical non-governmental organizations with the resources they need to get established in Ukraine.

Leach said he believes Ukrainians won’t accept anything but total victory (restoration of all territory according to internationally recognized borders).

“Prior to the full scale invasion, I think many would have been happy to part with the territory Russia held, but after the horrific crimes Russia has committed, Ukrainians want Russia to be punished and a full restoration of territory,” he said.

He describes Western aid as “incredible.”

One example is military support and HIMARS artillery. Its capable of pinpoint precision and outranges anything comparable the Russians have.

“Using those, our guys have blown up dozens of ammo and supply depots and made it virtually impossible for the Russians to keep up their push into Ukraine… Russia has the advantage in numbers, but using superior Western weapons will give Ukraine the edge overall. I think having these better weapons will save a lot of Ukrainian lives in the long run.”

This war has given Leach a clear purpose and he plans to stay in Ukraine, along with his wife.

In his talk, Leach will give people a quick rundown of the situation as it is on the ground, and impress on them the fact that the war is still far from over.

“We need to keep up our support until victory.”

He will also discuss why organizations like his and those he works with are necessary even when Ukraine is receiving billions in aid from other governments

The talk is happening on August 11 at 7 p.m., when Forster’s Book Garden in Bolton is hosting Leach while he is on a visit to Canada.

Donna Forster of Forster’s Book Garden said Leach hopes to not only spread the word about the work his organization is doing, but fundraise for it as well.

Forster said what Leach is doing is incredibly important and worthy of support.

“I think it’s an incredibly important story, and we all know they need help. And here we have our own (former) resident… who’s out there, doing what needs to be done. So really, all the help they can get would be brilliant,” said Forster. “That’s why we agreed to help.”

On the night of Leach’s presentation, Forster’s Book Garden arranged for the Little Grey Workhorse trailer to be at the bookstore for the evening.

The workhorse is run by Harold and Wanda Janes, who collect no-longer-wanted electronics and sell them, with the proceeds going to charity — in this case, Project Volya.

Those interested in learning more about Project Volya can attend the presentation on the eleventh, visit projectvolya.ca, or search “Project Volya” on the crowdfunding website GoFundMe.