FALLS TOWNSHIP >> The Falls Township Police Department on Friday, March 4 announced a collection drive for the war-torn country of Ukraine and encouraged other emergency service agencies to step forward with donations of their own.

Standing before a meeting room filled with Ukrainians, some of them holding tightly to the now familiar blue and yellow Ukrainian flag, Falls Township Police Chief Nelson Whitney said his department will be collecting expired and unexpired ballistic vests, helmets, boots, clothing and medical supplies, including tourniquets, until further notice for the people of the Ukraine.

“Like the rest of the civilized world, we have watched in horror as Russia invaded Ukraine and brought unprovoked war and suffering to Europe,” said Whitney. “We unequivocally condemn this act of aggression by Russian President Putin.

“In support of the Ukrainian people, we have collected supplies which will be flown to the Ukraine,” Whitney continued. “It is our hope that this will provide some measure of relief and aid directly from the men and women of the Falls Township Police Department to those who are in danger in Ukraine.”

Whitney thanked the officers of the department and their families for making the initial round of donations, which filled the front of the meeting room.

“I am also grateful for the unanimous support of our board of supervisors of this donation effort,” said Whitney. “The department will continue ongoing donations in support of the Ukrainian people.”

Whitney was joined at the press conference by township police officer Dean Stecklair who has family in Ukraine and was the impetus for the collection drive.

“When he told us this was needed it touched everybody’s desire to help,” said Whitney. “We all had this desire. We are all watching this on television. We were wishing we could do something. Then Dean came up to us and said, ‘Hey, can we do this?’”

Shortly after issuing the call for help, the donations began pouring in, from ballistic vests and helmets to boots and medical supplies.

“We are extremely happy to have received a large donation of ballistic vests and other supplies from the men and women of this department,” said Stecklair. “These items will be shipped to Ukraine where they will help save lives.

“Just let that sink in for a second,” he continued. “These supplies are going to help Ukrainians save lives.

“This is a plea to other police departments, fire departments, rescue squads, ambulance companies, hospitals and any individuals to donate and do the same. Our goal is to get even more supplies donated and in turn help save even more lives.

“It’s an absolute travesty what is going on over in Ukraine,” said Stecklair, whose wife immigrated here from Ukraine in 1989 and who still has relatives there. “But since we can’t be there in person to help we are doing as much as we can here.

“Again, I want you to think about what is going on over there in Ukraine. It’s not just the military fighting this war. The innocent men and women over there are fighting side by side in a war they didn’t ask for. They are ordinary people just like your neighbor who lives next to you who have picked up arms to fight. They weren’t given any warning they would be fighting, but they are. They are forced to. Most of them have bare minimal supplies or nothing. That’s why this donation of the vests and supplies will again save lives.

“Most of us on our lifetime will never be given the chance to give a gift as great as that,” said Stecklair. “Fortunately for us here in the police department we have a chance to do that and we do it daily for this township. We save lives on a daily basis. There’s no other greater gift than you can give to human kind. By donating the supplies that are needed you’re able to participate in that act.”

The announcement of the collection drive brought cheers from the audience made up of members of the local Ukrainian community.

Among them was Igor Klymenko, who is helping the township arrange the logistics to ship the donations to Poland and then to Ukraine.

“We are extremely thankful for you, for your help, for what you are doing. You understand it. You are on the front line fighting crime. You are on the right side of force, fighting the dark same as our guys there,” he told the police. “A lot of people who are here never thought this could happen. This is going to save lives,” he said to applause from the gathering.

Following the press conference, Ukrainian-born Andriy Penchak from Middletown Township became the first to receive donations from the drive, including a ballistic vest and a helmet.

“I’m not afraid to die. I’m afraid to leave my children and wife alone,” said Penchak, who was scheduled to fly out Friday night to join the fight for his homeland.

“That’s incredible,” said Chief Whitney, when informed by one of his officers of the Penchak’s plan to join the war effort.

“We have all been amazed with how strong the Ukrainian people are to face a foe like Russia,” said Whitney. “Imagine this happening where you live. The very place you live is invaded by a foreign country. We can’t imagine that.

“I think about the horror of 9-11. Many of us will never forget where we were that day. This is much wider scale. It’s devastating that their country is being invaded, that their homes are being destroyed. Yet their resolve is truly impressive,” said Whitney. “For those of us in the emergency services we’re not spectators. We want to get involved. We want to do something. I wish we could send them guns and bullets, but anything we can send them I’m grateful for the opportunity.”

Turning to the Ukrainian people gathered in the meeting room, Whitney said their attendance at the event says everything. “Thank you for being here today,” he said to applause.

The Falls Township Police Department is serving as a 24-7 donation drop-off site for much-needed supplies to Ukraine. The following equipment/supplies are being requested as donations:

Urgently Needed Items include: Radio sets (multiple items),  arresting bleeding tourniquet C.A.T.,  four inch Israeli bandage with pressure bar, hemostatic saturated blood stopping compression roller bandage for tamponade, nasopharyngeal airway (different sizes), occlusal bandage halo chest seal, needle decompression, individual first aid dressing package, roller bandage for wound tamponade, sticking plaster, non-traumatic scissors, sterile gloves, markers, wounded report card,  Tranexamic acid 500-1000 mg ampouled,  Noradrenaline (norepinephrine), Intraosseous access sets, neck collars, laryngeal masks, cricothyroidism set, quick clot combat gauze z-folded, double lumen centra, peripheral venous catheter, coatings for burns, Chlorhexidine 0,05 percent and 2 percent, Povidone iodine, Betadine, medical gloves sterile/non-sterile, medical patch, trauma shears for clothes, tactical backpacks/bags for emergency assistance, external bone fixation devices, temporary vascular shunt, arterial shunt (different sizes), hemostatic sponges, surgispon, pneumatic turnstiles, surgical tourniquet and suture materials of any kind.

Also needed: Non-perishable food items (cans), pet food, clothes for any size and age, shoes for any size and age, diapers and feminine products.

Anyone interested in donating any of the above listed items is requested to bring them to the Falls Township Police Department lobby (188 Lincoln Highway, Fairless Hills). Donations will be accepted 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Anyone interested in making monetary contributions is directed to contact the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center, Jenkintown, www.ueccphila.org, for additional information. Anyone with questions should contact Sergeant Christopher Clark, at (215) 302-3315, or email c.clark@fallstwppd.com.

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