A local group set up to lead Moray’s support for refugees fleeing the Syrian crisis has been given three vacant business units by the council.
Moray Council has made the units on Chanonry industrial estate in Elgin available to Moray Supports Refugees to use as a handling centre for the thousands of items donated.
The council has also put one of its vehicles at the group’s disposal to help with the collection and distribution of donated items such as included clothing, footwear and sleeping bags.
Four volunteers are undergoing training to allow them to drive the van.
Moray Council leader Stewart Cree said: “The immediate needs of the thousands of refugees fleeing their homeland continue to be the focus of the huge international relief effort – and understandably so.
“However, it is equally important that when they are finally resettled – wherever that might be – arrangements are in place to enable them to integrate into their new surroundings.
“They will arrive with little or no possessions and will require the everyday household items that we take for granted.”
Moray Supports Refugees evolved from the MorayCalAid group, created by Fochabers Lhanbryde councillor Sean Morton and Elgin North councillor Kirsty Reid.
Mr Morton said: “We turned Moray CalAid into Moray Supports Refugees to expand our reach because Calais is one specific area of the crisis and we are now helping people on a wider scale.
“It is important that people can contribute in any way they can. So many people have contacted us in the last few weeks with things they don’t any more than can make a real difference, so we need to make it as easy as possible for people to help where they can.”
Rev Shuna Dicks, who has established a collection point at Aberlour Church, added: “The response has been phenomenal and we are really very grateful to the council for this.
“There are collection points all over Moray, so in Elgin we now have the opportunity to gather everything that folk have in full spare rooms, sheds and churches.”