BERLIN– More than $30,000 worth of medical supplies is bound for Ukraine thanks to the efforts of the Berlin community.
What started as a one-day fundraiser turned into a major donation this week as Ryan Nellans, better known as Berlin baker Sconer, partnered with Atlantic General Hospital to provide medical supplies to the Hospitallers, a volunteer medical battalion working in Ukraine.
“I was blown away,” Nellans said. “I knew we had good people in this town but this is beyond what I expected.”
Just days after the war started in Ukraine, Nellans, known for the scones he sells at the Berlin Farmers Market, decided he wanted to do something to help.
“It’s hard not to act when you recognize a call,” he said. “When there is a need, you can’t just sit there and pretend it’s not happening.”
After reading on Reddit about a Canadian baker who was donating a day of sales to Ukrainian causes, Nellans shared plans to do the same. In just one day, he raised more than $1,700 for Hospitallers.
Encouraged by the community support, Nellans set up a second week-long fundraiser. He also reached out to Atlantic General Hospital, hoping the organization could connect him with a distributor so he could use the donations to buy supplies for the Hospitallers.
Instead, the hospital came back with a list of all the items Atlantic General could donate.
“It was stacks and stacks and stacks of stuff,” Nellans said.
Boxes of medical supplies donated by Atlantic General Hospital are being sent to a medical battalion in Ukraine. Submitted image.
When he realized he wouldn’t be able to transport it in his personal vehicle, countless community members offered their help. Schell Brothers and Seacrets both offered box trucks. On Tuesday, Schell Brothers sent a truck and three employees to Atlantic General’s warehouse to help Nellans and hospital representatives load up more than $30,000 in medical supplies. Among the items donated were isolation gowns, surgical gloves, masks and coveralls, and various other supplies.
“Having been the beneficiary of an outpouring of community support – donated food for front line workers, hand sanitizer and other supplies, hand-made masks – over the long COVID-19 pandemic, Atlantic General Hospital and Health System is now paying it forward,” a news release from the hospital reads.
Nellans said the crew from Schell Brothers transported the supplies to Wilmington, where Ukraine Express will prioritize them based on usefulness and ship them to Ukraine.
“It’s all going to make its way over there,” he said. He’s also sending over the more than $3,400 he raised from the two scone fundraisers.
Nellans is thrilled that he was able to do something to help the people of Ukraine and hopes his fundraiser serves as an inspiration to others.
“You don’t need to wait for your government, your church, your friends—you can get involved,” he said. “Get out there and do it yourself. You don’t need permission to do good.”
