April 2025
Dear Friends of Ukraine,
When talk of a ceasefire arises, people ask us: Are you looking forward to taking a break? Our answer is simple: A temporary ceasefire is not permanent peace. The negotiations that were promised to bring an end to the “three-day” war in Ukraine within 24 hours have been going on for three months, without yielding any results other than preemptive concessions to the aggressor. In fact, the ongoing discussions have seemed to intensify russia’s aggression, especially against civilians.
The “ceasefire escalation” has fortified Sunflower Seeds Ukraine's resolve to deliver critical gear to Ukrainian Defenders and Paramedics now and for the foreseeable future. Every month, thanks to our donors, we deliver $30-40K worth of requested items to 500 Defenders, and refine our systems to do so as quickly and efficiently as possible. Just this past month alone, we delivered a 40-foot container packed full of gear to our warehouse in Ukraine, and packed another 15,000 pounds of gear for the next container.
Read on to learn more about our upcoming container shipment to Ukraine, how your donations were converted to aid in March, upcoming concert and brewery events, our team member profile, and what life is like for Ukrainians living under russian occupation. Or, read no further and support Ukrainian Defenders by clicking the ‘Donate Now’ button above.
Thank you for being part of our community.
Together we are stronger!
Kyle, Andriy, Ulana, Natalie and all of us at
Sunflower Seeds Ukraine
Spread Seeds of Help!
P.S. To read longer versions of our news stories, visit our blog on the website.
YOUR DONATIONS AT WORK: MARCH 2025
In March 2025, your donations allowed us to supply 348 Ukrainian Defenders and Medics with 1,603 medical and protective items including: 225 individual first aid kits, 439 protective equipment items (like electronic earmuffs to protect from shell shock), 447 tactical gear items (including backpacks and canteens), 382 uniform components (boots, shirts, pants), 111 optical devices (mostly binoculars...). We also provided a few other important items, including drone detectors (picture on the left), thanks to your generous support of the Drone Detector campaign in February. Thanks to each of you who support our mission to save lives and sustain the resolve of Ukrainian Defenders. You make our work possible!
Getting gear into a war zone isn't simple. International transportation, customs paperwork, and overland delivery across the United States and Europe add up fast, especially for full-sized 40-foot shipping containers loaded floor to ceiling with 40 pallets. But we have experience doing so! In 2024, we shipped four 40-foot containers (together containing 60,000 pounds of gear), the last of which arrived in Ukraine this past month. And in March 2025, we packed another one in Colorado — check out our work in action! Our second 2025 shipment will go out in June, which is why we’ve launched the Ship the Gear! campaign.
Shipping a container costs approximately $10,000, but it’s worth the cost: Each one contains enough gear to help 1,000-2,000 Defenders. That works out to just $5-$10 per person who receives the aid, making this method much more efficient than any other form of shipping from the USA to Ukraine. Your support of the Ship the Gear! campaign will help pay for fuel, logistics, and safe delivery from Colorado to our ‘warehouse’ near Rivne, Ukraine. That’s where our team of Ukrainian volunteers distributes gear to individual Defenders and small units all across the front line. Click Ship the Gear! today — help us move the gear so that Defenders have what they need to keep up their fight!
TEAM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: KYLE WILKERSON
To read more, go to our Patreon page, where we also post other exclusive content
Meet Kyle Wilkerson — a marketing professional who joined our team just in time to bring an infusion of energy to our Holiday Giving Campaign. In the eight months since Kyle joined Sunflower Seeds Ukraine, he has dedicated time, energy, and expertise to our all-volunteer nonprofit. Now, Kyle also spearheads our communications efforts, writing content for all types of projects, including email and text campaigns, brochures, our blog, and this newsletter, too. “I’m also a fan of the pallet-packing events,” says Kyle.
While Kyle’s great-grandfather was Ukrainian, heritage is not what drives his support for Ukraine: “My motivation is ideological,” explains Kyle. “It's a simple fact that democratic societies produce better outcomes for their citizens than authoritarian societies. The death and destruction inflicted upon the Ukrainian people are completely unnecessary and are a direct result of russia's despotic form of government.”
When asked why he’s chosen to dedicate so much time and energy to Sunflower Seeds Ukraine, Kyle says: “Though we are living in uncertain times, it gives me hope that so many of us have come together over such a meaningful cause. I can't tell you how grateful we volunteers are for your generous support. Slava Ukraini!”
CELEBRATE UKRAINIAN CULTURE WITH US THIS MONTH!
Your support of Ukraine and of the Sunflower Seeds Ukraine mission has been steadfast. Big thanks to our donors for your contributions and to our volunteers for your hours that have helped us help Ukraine!
Today, we ask you to stand with Ukraine in a different way: we invite you to immerse yourself in Ukrainian culture. The last few weeks of April here in the Front Range of Colorado are abuzz with several events where you can see and hear the ways in which Ukrainian music has sustained Ukrainians for generations up till now. And it’s particularly meaningful at this very moment when our hearts are overwhelmed with grief as attacks continue to kill and harm innocent civilians.
From a movie, to two concerts, to a gathering at a brewery — we hope to see you at one or all of these upcoming events!
WHAT IS LIFE LIKE IN OCCUPIED UKRAINE?
To read the full story with references, check out our blog post.
What does life under the kremlin rule look like for Ukrainians in the occupied parts of the country? For young and old alike, it’s oppressive and harrowing. Any form of what is interpreted as resistance is met with quick retribution. Maybe most heartbreaking is the toll the occupation is taking on the estimated one million school-age Ukrainian children living in the occupied parts of the country.
Ukrainian kids are forbidden from receiving instruction in their native language, and instead are indoctrinated with a curriculum designed to eliminate Ukrainian national identity and to replace it with a russian imperial identity. russian textbooks teach lies to Ukrainian children: that it was Ukraine rather than russia that started the war. Students who resist the curriculum or are caught speaking Ukrainian are severely punished. Once students are of drafting age, educators are required to report their names to russian authorities, or risk being detained and tortured. The same is true for parents who do not enroll their children in indoctrination schools, with the additional risk of losing custody of their children.
Despite these risks, more than 62,000 Ukrainian students living in occupied areas of Ukraine study in Ukrainian secondary schools remotely, demonstrating the degree to which Ukrainians are willing to resist russian subjugation. Keeping their nation free from such barbarism is just one of the many reasons the Defenders of Ukraine continue to resist russian occupation with the hope of one day liberating Ukrainians under oppression.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD
Please forward this newsletter to anyone who might be interested, or use this form to subscribe or unsubscribe. For more frequent updates about our work, please like our Facebook page, follow us on Instagram, and subscribe to our Youtube channel and Patreon page. Browse our website for multiple ways to donate, or send us an email if you have any questions.
*The misspelling and lower casing of proper names like ‘russia’ in this newsletter is intentional and used as signs of disdain and disrespect. Similarly, the uppercasing of words such as ‘Defenders’ is intentional and used as a sign of respect and appreciation.
Note: Sunflower Seeds Ukraine is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN 99-3371103) registered in the state of Colorado, in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service. Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by U.S. law.
