When the war in Ukraine started, people in many countries were instantly caught up in the sheer destruction of a beautiful country and the trauma inflicted on its people. Perhaps no one was more affected locally by the war against the people of Ukraine than the staff and owners of Cameron’s Ace Hardware in Oxford.

The nightly images of the faces of displaced families, especially the children, haunted everyone that worked at the store.

Co-owner Angie Lobb, actually thought back to her early childhood in England during World War II.

“It was a long time ago, and I was a very young child, but I still remember the Germans flying over our town on their way to bomb London,” she said. “We all were devastated by the war in Ukraine and had to do something.”

So they quickly decided on a fundraiser. In the past, the store has raffled off or auctioned off art work, so that seemed like an idea that would work.

“We have a former employee, Ellis Porter, who does amazing wildlife paintings which we have successfully auctioned off to raise money for Relay For Life. He was only too happy to donate 15 paintings for this cause,” Lobb explained. 

Other employees also donated prints, and Chris Grove from the Oxford Chamber of Commerce also donated prints.

A raffle ticket was $5 but many people were only too happy to make donations. Some relatives of employees offered $100 donations. Many just gave whatever they had on them at the time. In the end, they raised $2,000 and the store matched that with another $2,000. In nearly one week, they had raised $4,000.

“I got in touch with a gentleman in New York who was connected with UNICEF. We wanted our money to go to children who had been displaced in other countries and UNICEF would do that,” she said.

There was another connection that Cameron’s Ace Hardware has to the Ukraine—the fact that a student who had worked there was from the country.

“That really pushed the issue,” Lobb said.

For the popular store that treats everyone like family, the decision to hold a fundraiser to raise money for Ukraine was a no-brainer.

“We started the event on March 12 and by March 20, we had our money. All of us wanted to do something for the people of Ukraine and we knew it had to be sooner rather than later,” she said.

Cameron’s Ace Hardware, owners and employees, worked quickly and are helping the children caught up in this war.

There are many charities helping the people of Ukraine. Do your research and know that people want to give to help the many who are suffering from this war.