Two of them appeared in Lviv at gas stations at the addresses: 2A Naukova St. and 1 Symon Petliura St.; two more in Kharkiv – 140-A Moskovskyi Ave. and 44 Klochkivska St.; and one in Dnipro – 84 Robocha St. Thus, now the network will operate 16 containers for collecting items in 5 cities: Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro, and Kharkiv.
Used clothing, shoes, bed linen, books, and dishes that guests of the OKKO network leave in special containers are significant help for the underprivileged. Caring Ukrainians understand this and are increasingly sharing items with those in need. For example, in 2016, more than 100 tons of items were collected in containers at OKKO – twice as much as in the previous year.
Leaving used items at a gas station is very convenient for many drivers, as it allows them to do a good deed without spending precious time. On the territory of the gas stations, the containers are under constant surveillance. Their sorting and distribution are handled by charitable public organizations with which the OKKO network has established partnerships. For example, in Lviv, where containers are filled most actively, this is done by the community "Emaous-Oselia," whose main activity is organizing the life and work of homeless people. The first joint container for collecting items with the organization was installed at an OKKO gas station back in 2014.
"Such an initiative allows giving a second life to items that are no longer needed by their owners but can still serve poor and homeless people. Your items are carefully sorted and reused. This is not only social but also environmental work," notes social worker of the "Emaous-Oselia" community, Olia Biianska. "It is also important for us that the containers are not destroyed or robbed, and this can be ensured if they are located in areas where constant control and security are provided, such as at gas stations."
In Kyiv, OKKO's partners are two public organizations – "Ukraine Without Borders" and "Responsible Citizens," in Odesa – "Good Samaritan," in Dnipro – the charitable foundation "We Help," and in Kharkiv – "Caritas-Ukraine."
Kyiv volunteer associations send items selected from containers mainly to Donbas, to areas controlled by Ukraine. In particular, last year, material aid was provided to underprivileged students from Krasnohorivka, children from the Lysychansk social rehabilitation center and the Children's Center for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation in Kramatorsk, the least affluent families in the town of Maiorivka, and residents of other settlements near the contact line who lost their jobs or homes as a result of hostilities. In Dnipro, the "We Help" foundation gives some items to a local geriatric nursing home and distributes the rest among low-income families. In Odesa, the public organization "Good Samaritan" has been implementing the project "Second Life of Your Items" for the second year. Odesa volunteers distribute used items among internally displaced persons and also send them to boarding schools and shelters in their region.
"Collecting used items at gas stations is a great example of partnership between responsible business, volunteer organizations, and ordinary people, whose combined efforts help ease the lives of many Ukrainians," says OKKO gas station network's sustainable development manager, Anna Tykhovska. "Such cooperation, better than any words, promotes the ideas of solidarity and mutual aid in Ukrainian society, and thus makes it more sensitive and humane."
Addresses of all 16 OKKO gas stations with installed containers for used items:
• Kyiv, 1-A Heroiv Stalinhrada Ave.
• Kyiv, 8 Dniprovska Naberezhna St.
• Kyiv, 20-Z Brovarskyi Ave.
• Kyiv, 2-Z Lesia Kurbasa Ave.
• Kyiv, 2-A Henerala Vatutina Ave.
• Lviv, 12 Yu. Lypy St.
• Lviv, 12 Dzh. Vashynhtona St.
• Lviv, 2A Naukova St.
• Lviv, 1 Symon Petliura St.
• Odesa, 3-B Krasnova St.
• Odesa, 115 Balkovska St.
• Dnipro, 84 Robocha St.
• Dnipro, 31-H Panikakhy St.
• Dnipro, 87-L Kalynova St.
• Kharkiv, 140-A Moskovskyi Ave.
• Kharkiv, 44 Klochkivska St.
