Zest is spearheading an initiative to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine. The company has coordinated partners and local businesses to fill an articulated lorry with much-needed provisions such as non-perishable food, water, medical and first aid equipment.

Commenting on the initiative, Zest director, Rhys Hughes, said, “One of our employees, Andrzej Dudziak, who is our Zest Polish Sourcing Co-ordinator, based near Gdansk, has been helping out at the Polish / Ukraine border a couple of nights a week and has been in contact with Caritas, the biggest charity in Poland which is also assisting at the border.  Andrzej advised that, despite the huge amount of support already donated, aid is still required.  

“At Zest one of our core principles is that we want to contribute to the communities in which we operate so we really wanted to help.  We receive timber garden products from Poland weekly into our Saltney warehouse for redistribution to garden centres across the UK, so this seemed a prime opportunity for us to demonstrate our support for the people on the ground at the Polish border and in Ukraine by providing transport and coordinating this humanitarian aid mission.

“We sent an appeal to local businesses, supply chain and customers requesting a list of items ranging from medical dressings to thermal blankets to batteries and power banks to sleeping bags to non-perishable foods, nappies and sanitary products; and donations poured in.  

"It’s fantastic to see so many local businesses, partners and friends come together to support the Ukraine Aid effort.  I’d also like to say a big thank to our supply chain team who have been coordinating donations, warehousing and logistics.”

Over the last twelve years, Zest employees and their P&A Group colleagues have raised more than £130,000 for a variety of charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith Children’s Hospices, Cancer Research UK, Action for Children, Alzheimer’s Society, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and Meningitis Now.  To donate to the company’s British Heart Foundation fundraising page, the chosen charity for 2022, please visit www.p-a-group.com/charity.

Zest was established in 2005 to bring high quality, sustainable timber garden products to garden centres, online retailers, builders’ merchants, and major purchasing groups across the UK and Southern Ireland. 

For further information about Zest’s GYO, decorative and furniture products, visit www.zestoutdoorliving.co.uk.