
Sonya, Artur and Vasily - our amazing team in Minsk
One of our projects at The Together Plan in support of socially and economically vulnerable individuals and communities in Belarus is our Aid Together Project. This project that was started even before The Together Plan became a UK-registered charity is purely volunteer-driven and is quite an extraordinary achievement. It is something we are deeply proud of. Our volunteers collect, sort and pack donations of good-quality clothes, shoes, toys, baby items, arts and crafts materials, and resources for community centres. This is an enormous task, and every year we send around 13 tonnes of aid. The aid is distributed to Jewish and non-Jewish communities and helps support some of the most vulnerable in society, including Holocaust survivors, people with special needs, and single-parent families living under the poverty line.
There is so much social capital connected to this project—here in the UK, our volunteers buzz around the community to collect donations, having doorstep chats as they go. The volunteers who sort and pack have become a tight-knit group who love what they do and value the camaraderie of the work that they do and the good that they can see it brings. It really is a collaborative pull-together, and when we load the lorries, the scale of our achievements never ceases to amaze. Thirteen tonnes of aid is a lot of stuff.
During Covid, we still managed to run the project, although we had to make changes to our system, packing and sorting in a freezing cold warehouse with no utilities as that was the only space available to us. The volunteers put their best foot forward and made it work in very difficult conditions. Then Brexit happened, which meant that we were confronted by new systems, extra paperwork, and extra costs. But we kept sending. And then Russia invaded Ukraine, which meant that the cost of sending the aid tripled and many border crossings between Poland and Belarus and Lithuania started to close. This was a nervous moment for us—could we still hold onto this project and make it work? We knew we had to more than ever before because of sanctions. The people in Belarus were becoming isolated due to the geopolitical situation with limited access to things they could once get locally. Somehow, we have managed to keep going, and we successfully managed to get our consignment to Belarus in 2024—this time by sea freight and then by over land, as opposed to by road as we had done previously.
Watch the film here.
- Lorry at UK depot (2024)
- Aid being loaded in the UK in 2024
- UK team at work, lorry loading 2024
Last year, we started up an eBay online shop to help raise the funds needed to keep the project going, and we have made a good start. We are now looking for some local volunteers to help us grow this project. So if you are reading this, are based in the north London or Watford, Hertfordshire area, and would like to lend a hand and be part of an amazing team—we would love to hear from you. Additionally, you might want to help us by donating these items, which we can sell to raise the funds we need: silk scarves (Hermes and other brands), unwanted gold items (broken chains, bracelets, odd earrings, rings, etc.), new or as-new good quality branded shoes, football memorabilia, Burberry or Barbour coats, good-quality china, silver spoons, limited edition collectibles, medals, Judaica. There are so many ways to support this important project—and we really hope you will get behind us so that we can keep doing what we do and help the people who need our support.
Click on the poster to find out more:
Over the years of running the Aid Together project, we have managed to work out of empty disused warehouses. This has always been a challenge—trying to find these spaces and knowing that they are never forever. But working this way means that funds we raise go towards our projects and not into renting space. In 2021, we teamed up with ASTOP, who specialise in forging partnerships that benefit both landlords and the charitable organisations that seek space. Their unique approach transforms vacant properties into valuable community assets, all while reducing costs for landlords and supporting good causes. With ASTOP’s help, since 2021, we have been working out of an empty school building in Watford, and in the coming months, we will be on the move again. We don’t yet have confirmation of our next home, but working alongside ASTOP gives us reassurance. Watch this space—more information coming soon.
- Sonya, Artur and Vasily – our amazing team in Minsk
- Loading aid for distribution to two communities on Jan 22nd 2025
- Sonya, Artur and Vasily who make it all happen on the ground in Belarus
We could not run this project without our incredible team in Minsk, who receive the consignments that we send, manage the complex paperwork, the unloading, and the distribution to communities in Belarus. This week, they oversaw the loading of aid for distribution to two communities. There is so much work that goes into the whole project from beginning to end, and because we are such a close-knit team all the way from sourcing donations to allocation to beneficiaries—in spite of the miles that separate us—it really does show that a together plan really does work.
As we help individuals in Belarus with dignity, these people feel empowered to take part in our projects. They feel connected and valued, and this is the path to self-determination and growth. All in all, we keep this project going on human kindness, goodwill, and absolute determination in the knowledge that we are making a real and positive difference to the lives of other people! We know from our amazing team on the ground in Belarus where the aid goes the impact it has. We really are changing lives for the better and building a better civil society.
To make a contribution towards our next aid consignment please click here.
If you are in the USA – you can support via our sister non-profit Jewish Tapestry Project by clicking here.
Or you might want to make a donation as a charitable gift – click here to find out how.