A Bolton Ukrainian group has been given a cheque for £2,750 to help the Ukrainian community in Bolton as well as the community in Ukraine.

The Bolton branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain have been awarded the sum of money from proceeds raised at a charity fund raiser dinner at Bolton College.

Bolton Branch Chair of AUGB Yaroslaw Tymchyshyn, Anya and Maksym, Slobodian guests, were invited to Bolton College today to pick up their cheque and Yaroslaw said it is marvellous that people want to help Ukraine.

He said: "Today at Bolton College Principal Bill Webster gave us a cheque for £2,750.

"This was a result of a charity dinner which was held last month at the college.

"The college raised a total of £4,500 and the remainder of the money is being donated to the Red Cross DEC Ukraine Humanitarian appeal.

"It's fantastic, it's absolutely marvellous because it gives us more ability to help Ukrainians in this country and in Ukraine which is inevitably the reason behind our fundraising aims.

"I was contacted by Bill's office to attend the dinner and the college decided to split everything raised between the two.

"It was a surprise to me, I didn't know about it until I got the invite and they gave me the opportunity at the end to have the final word and considering the number of people in the room it was an honour to be invited, not only to the event but to actually say a few words at the end too.

"This money will be put to good use because it is desperately needed, although the fight has started to die down there's still the risk of rockets coming over, nobody is safe."

Not only did the Bolton group come together to recieve their cheque, they gathered at the town hall steps over the weekend to commemorate 150 days since the start of the war in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Community of Bolton together with friends, including the Mayor of Bolton, Akhtar Zaman, in his civies, Mark Logan MP, guests from Ukraine living in Bolton and many Bolton councillors gathered on the steps of the Town Hall on Saturday July 23.

The weather was miserable but according to Yaroslaw Tymchyshyn, Bolton Branch Chair of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, the weather did not dampen the spirits amongst all those who attended.

At the town hall, guests sang the Ukrainian national anthem and they also sang many well-known Ukrainian songs.

Yaroslaw addressed the meeting quoting Olena Zelenska's address to the Congress of the United States.

He said: "Russia is killing Ukraine.

"I am asking for weapons - not weapons that will attack a foreign land, but will defend our homeland, a land that we can wake up in peace."

The meeting concluded with the singing of 'Eternal Peace' in memory of Ukrainian heroes and heroines who died in the war torn country.

The following day, Sunday July 24, there was a special mass and memorial service at St Patrick's RC Church where residents and Ukrainians gathered to commemorate and remember the lives lost.

The Bolton branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain are also appealing for people to donate KS2 English work books for years four and five children to assist with their learning and colouring books.

Yaroslaw said: "The books are for the children.

"I got a message from someone at Bolton council saying there are children who would like to spend the summer getting their English up to speed and this is why they need the books."