Fairfax County Middle School Student To Collect Food, Supplies For Ukraine

CHANTILLY, VA — Nicholas Flanigan, a Life Scout from Troop 160 in Chantilly, is leading a group of Scouts who are holding a medical supplies and food donation drive for victims of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Nicholas, a student at Fairfax County’s Rachel Carson Middle School, chose to help Ukraine as part of his Eagle Scout project. All donations will be boxed by Nicholas and his fellow Scouts, and then sent to United Help Ukraine, a Maryland-based nonprofit organization founded in 2014. The group will then send the donated supplies to Ukraine.

Over the past few weeks, Nicholas has been promoting the project online. He plans to distribute up to 3,000 flyers in Fairfax County on Saturday, June 4, asking residents to donate medical supplies that can be used for first aid kits, baby essentials, and items such as rice, pasta and canned meat.

A week later, on Saturday, June 11, Nicholas will hold the drive at the Fairfax Church of Christ, at 3901 Rugby Road in Chantilly, near the Fairfax County Parkway. Nicholas will be accepting donations at the church until 4 p.m. June 11.

Nicholas said his goal is to collect at least 40 medium-size boxes of supplies and food to send to Ukraine.

All donations collected on June 11 will be packed by Scouts of Troop 160 to be shipped directly to Ukraine Express, United Help Ukraine’s shipping partner in Delaware. After the donations arrive in Delaware, they will get shipped to Ukraine. United Help Ukraine has delivered recent humanitarian aid donations to cities including Mykolaiv and Kharkiv.

“My mother is an immigrant from Eastern Europe, and our family roots go all the way to Ukraine, and I am saddened to see the dire conditions of people living there,” Nicholas said. “I hope what I do here, and my community donations will help save many people from suffering and hunger.”

Nicholas put together a list of supplies he is hopes to collect for Ukraine as part of the drive. The public can also visit Nicholas' Eagle Scout project site on Amazon to purchase medical supplies and food that will get delivered directly to him for delivery to Ukraine.

Residents can email Nicholas at SupplyDriveUkraine@gmail.com with any questions about how to donate supplies or to request that supplies be picked up at their homes. They can also ship any medical supplies or food directly to Nicholas at United Help Ukraine, P.O. Box 223602, Chantilly, VA 20153-3542. He will then send the donations to United Help Ukraine for transport to Ukraine.

People can visit Nicholas Flanigan's website for more information on his medical supplies and food essentials for Ukraine drive.