Devon community rallies to support Ukraine, establishes Ukrainian Action chapter

Hidden away in the (not so) sleepy village of Stoke Gabriel, on the banks of the River Dart in South Devon, is a powerhouse of charitable activity. In just two and a half years, a small volunteer group has fundraised, donated and delivered, no less than 76 trucks, ambulances, vans and disability vehicles to front line areas of Ukraine, all loaded with civilian aid items.

In the Spring of 2023, one Stoke Gabriel resident wanted to donate a used generator to help Ukrainians suffering from blackouts caused by Russian bombings of power stations. Research led him to the UK charity Ukrainian Action. Within days, he and a small group of local friends had signed up to actually drive 4x4 trucks (and his old generator) out to eastern Poland, for Ukrainian Action's onward delivery to front line regions in Ukraine.

That first mission so inspired and motivated those volunteers, they pledged to form a group and commit themselves to continue fundraising and delivering vehicles, all loaded with locally sourced civilian and medical aid items, including medicines, bandages, firefighting equipment and many more generator. Thus, Ukrainian Action Team Devon was born, and to date their widely varied fundraising efforts have enabled them to procure, buy, prepare, load and deliver no less than 76 vehicles for Ukrainian Action. In 2025 alone, UA Team Devon raised a whopping £280,000 - a major contribution to the impressive record of Ukrainian Action.

The success of UA Team Devon has attracted BBC Spotlight News bulletins three times and local MP Caroline Voeden tabled a House of Commons motion congratulating Ukrainian Action Team Devon on the remarkable achievement of donating their 50th vehicle in April 2025.

It is said that on average, every truck saves ten lives, but one old Ford Ranger UA Team Devon donated to Ukraine managed to save 100 lives on an evacuation mission in one night in February 2025, before being destroyed by a Russian drone a few weeks later.

One of the many fundraising activities adopted by UA Team Devon is delivering illustrated talks to local clubs and societies, such as Rotary, Probus, and Inner Wheel, who have supported our efforts in response to volunteer Adam S describing his personal and very moving experiences during his four missions driving vehicles and aid to front line communities in eastern Ukraine.

Given the success and impact of UA Team Devon, the Ukrainian Action team would love to establish more community teams in every UK county to boost the charity’s work. So, they are always looking for good souls in the (not so) sleepy villages of the British Isles, who may be inspired by UA Team Devon, have an old generator to donate and would be willing to muster some friends to form a ‘local team’ to regularly help the besieged nation of Ukraine with the support of Ukrainian Action.

If you live in South Devon and would like to donate or join as a volunteer, please contact Team Devon here.

To inquire about fundraising for Ukraine in your community - or organising a humanitarian aid convoy to Poland - reach out to Ukrainian Action here.

Slava Ukraini!