A Star Wars enthusiast from Stevenage has begun to use his hobby to raise money for a charity that delivers medical supplies to Ukraine.
Alex Bain has utilised his passion to create a book named 'Stop Wars', with all proceeds going to Hospitallers.
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Hospitallers provide medical supplies for paramedics who save lives in Ukraine.
The book brings together a collection of photographs taken by over 50 toy photographers across the globe.
Alex Bain told the Comet: "Ever since I was a child, I had an overwhelming obsession with Star Wars, which I’m sure was largely due to my dad.
"I remember him trying to get me to watch ‘A New Hope’ from a very young age, and finding myself not particularly enjoying it, probably to my dad's great disappointment!
"A few years passed, and maybe I was initially too young, or maybe it was one of those moments when someone tries to shoehorn a particular interest into you, and it just doesn’t quite fit - whatever the case might have been, when I sat down to watch ‘A New Hope’ this time, I was hooked.
"Thus began a lifelong obsession!"
Speaking of the book itself, Alex continued: "When the news about Ukraine being invaded broke, I couldn’t help but feel that if there was a way to help the people of Ukraine, I would try my hardest to do it.
"Luckily I happened to be a part of one the best community of artists around online - the toy photography community!
"There’s such an amazing sense of camaraderie among the community and I knew it wouldn’t take too much persuading to get people on board – happily this was exactly what happened.
"The photos you see in this book were taken by this community, and specifically added so that the profits made from the sale of this book go directly to the people of Ukraine.
"War is such an awful thing, and my heart goes out to the people of Ukraine, and in fact, anyone who has suffered under the pretence of ‘war’ anywhere around the globe.
"This book shows the power of what an international community can do when they put their efforts towards something for the good of the world, maybe one day as a species we can agree to put aside our differences, maybe then we will stop wars."
Alex's book can be purchased for £10 on Amazon.
Further information about Hospitallers can be found at www.hospitallers.org.uk).
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