J001010 - Lycetts Newsletter Jan 2024 LR - Flipbook - Page 16
M A K E PI Z Z A NOT WA R
- A ‘HOPE F U L L’ STORY
Joanna Fox-Pitt
HopeFull Volunteer
Coordinator
A suburb somewhere in Ukraine. Three trucks roll into a deserted square and park up. Blocks of
昀氀ats that appear empty and uninhabitable tower over the scene. Some windows are gaping,
frameless, some boarded up and sometimes there are the more obvious blackened signs of recent
shelling. Look harder and you might see a curtain move.
A slightly eccentric band of volunteers leap out of the
trucks, some wearing kilts made up in the blue and
yellow of Ukraine and the local colourful embroidered
shirts. Serving tables are put out and a couple of tea
urns start to boil. Within minutes the hatches are open
and multiple gas ovens roar. Music fills the air as does
the smell of pizza.
A bemused bunch of people emerge out of nowhere
and start to form a queue. Who are these guys? A
magical energy which needs no translation begins to
melt the anxious atmosphere as the team starts to
serve the growing crowd. Soon it is several hundred
strong despite the biting sub-zero wind. A volunteer
kicks a football to a group of boys watching on
guardedly. They relax and kick it back, one of them
starts to grin and his mum turns to say that it’s the first
time she’s seen him smile in weeks. The older
‘babushkas’ who have been grimly pushing their way
towards the front of the queue start to banter in
broken phrases and hand signals: more sugar in their
tea? One, reduced to tears, hugs a volunteer as she
hands over a gift in exchange - homemade jam. Small
children hold hands and skip round to the music.
The charity ‘HopeFull’ currently delivers piping hot
pizzas, drinks, snacks and fruit to thousands of
vulnerable Ukrainians every day - one smile at a time.
Previously operating under the name ‘Siobhan’s Trust’
this team of passionate people shows countless
traumatised individuals that they are not forgotten.
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’HopeFull’ will continue to find ways to support Ukraine
while ‘Siobhan’s Trust’ has reverted to a separate
charitable family trust run by Siobhan’s immediate
family.
The arrival of the HopeFull trucks is a welcome sight to
those living in damaged buildings often without
running water, electricity or heating. The kilts send an
instant and important message that this isn’t a local
hand out and that people from outside Ukraine have
come to offer support. The volunteers represent many
different countries. They bring an infectious sense of
fun, breaking the ice and bringing a few moments of
relief to those whose lives are a daily struggle. It’s
simple and powerful.
It’s strange where fate takes you sometimes, David
Fox-Pitt explains how it all came about.
After the sudden and unexpected death of a family
member, Siobhan Dundee (wife of Alexander Dundee,
David’s uncle), David, who has a long track record of
organising fundraising outdoor events through his
business, WildFox Events Ltd, offered to help set up a
family trust to support causes close to Siobhan’s heart.
This led to the formation of Siobhan’s Trust. During the
Covid lockdown he delivered goodies to NHS staff and
food banks all over Scotland as well as starting
initiatives to help disadvantaged groups in Dundee
develop and access a community garden.
