£50,000 of Aid Delivered to Ukrainian Refugees by Motus Commercials and Ascott Transport Ltd

Motus Commercials and Ascott Transport Ltd have teamed up to collect and transport vital aid to Poland for Ukrainian refugees.

• Motus Commercials, the UK’s largest Commercial Vehicle Dealership Group, and warehousing specialists Ascott Transport Ltd have joined forces to take vital aid to the value of £50,000 to Poland, which will then be transported into Ukraine.

  At the beginning of March, Motus Commercials received the news that a number of Polish colleagues were placed on 24-hour notice to be recalled to Poland and re-conscripted into the army as the Ukrainian crisis was escalating. This was as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were being displaced from their homes by the Russian bombs and heading to the Polish border to seek refuge and safety.

  Concerned by the events, Emma Murdock, Head of HR at Motus Commercials felt that the business had to step forward to help.

  Emma explains, “I called Matt Lawrenson, our Managing Director, and suggested that we open up all 32 of our dealership locations as collection points for Ukrainian Aid, allowing for colleagues and local communities to contribute and help those in need. All donations would then be transported to the Derby site for sorting before being loaded onto trailers heading for Ukraine.”

  The news of the Ukraine Aid collection points was circulated among colleagues and on social media where local communities were encouraged to drop off their donations at their nearest Motus Commercials. The list of essential supplies included: toiletries, baby food, nappies, baby milk, medical supplies, sanitary ware, non-perishable food, blankets, and children’s clothes.

• The response was incredible and within 48 hours Motus Commercials was completely overcome with the scale of donations as vans, trailers and cars all rolled into their Derby Dealership. Donations came in from each of the 32 dealerships, customers, communities around each of the dealerships, local people in Derby, and from the Polish and Ukrainian communities – who also turned up in their numbers as volunteers to help Motus Commercials colleagues.

  Overwhelmed by the volume of donations, and unfamiliar with negotiating customs, Motus Commercials enlisted the help of one of their customers, ATL Transport Ltd, whose experience with European Freight was most welcome. Whilst Pete Ascott, Owner at ATL Transport, organised the transport of the aid, Emma Murdock and her team of volunteers spent Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday unpacking, re-packing, recording inventories, stacking onto pallets, shrink-wrapping, and loading onto trailers.

• On Wednesday 9th March, two 40ft trailers containing an estimated £50,000 worth of donated goods departed Motus Commercials Derby, heading for ATL Transport for final inspections, then onto the Polish Charity Centre, 100 miles from the Ukrainian border. They arrived on Monday 14th March and the charity will take the goods to their final destination, ensuring the support goes exactly where it is needed.

  Emma summarises the experience of what became a challenging but heartwarming team effort from everyone involved across the UK:

  “What we have achieved in less than two weeks is truly magnificent and I cannot thank everyone who has been involved enough.

  “This wouldn’t have been possible without the exceptional efforts of people like Keely Pearce, Mel Handsley, Shaun Abbey, and Sarah Pilling from Motus Commercials, and colleagues from sister companies Pentagon Motor Group and Motus Vehicle Solutions who stepped up when the sheer scale of the response threatened to overwhelm our efforts. We’d also like to thank ATL Transport Ltd, including owner Pete Ascott and their two drivers Steve Amour and Keith Tait, along with their wonderful team who managed the customs process.

  “Motus Commercials as a business operates on several core values, and ‘Together We Make a Difference’ and ‘Our People Are Our Most Important Asset’ have echoed across our business as people have gone above and beyond to come together in support of Ukraine.

  “We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved – we pulled it off and we can only hope our efforts provide help to those people suffering as a result of the conflict in Ukraine.”