May 2024
Dear Friends of Ukraine,
Connections – they are at the core of what we do. Our connections to Defenders and Medics in Ukraine keep us attuned to critical needs of the war. The connections between our team members in Ukraine and volunteers in the USA ensure that the aid gets sourced, transported, and distributed where it’s most needed. Our connections to supporters around the world enable us to purchase and deliver life-saving supplies. All these connections are links in the chain of help we provide daily, and the chain remains strong.
Our connection to you – Sunflower Seeds Ukraine supporters – is a vital part of the chain. Through this newsletter, posts on social media, emails and events, we aim to keep you connected to our work and informed about our successes and challenges. In the coming weeks, you’ll receive a survey from us about your communication preferences. Your answers to that survey will help inform the direction our communications take in the future, so please let us know what you like and what we could do better.
In the meantime, read on to learn about the aid we’ve recently delivered to Ukrainian Defenders, including a brief report on the status of the jammer project, our current Help Kids Smile campaign aimed at helping send disadvantaged Ukrainian children to summer camps, and more.
Let’s show Ukraine our support! Together we are stronger!
Natalie, Andriy, Cyndi, Lidiya and all of us at
Sunflower Seeds Ukraine
Spread Seeds of Help!
P.S. Please share this newsletter and other information about Sunflower Seeds Ukraine at the bottom of this email with friends, family, colleagues and others who are looking for ways to help.
YOUR DONATIONS AT WORK: April 2024
In April, Sunflower Seeds Ukraine provided Ukrainian Defenders with 200 first aid kits, 200 protective equipment items (such as safety goggles, water filters, Camelbaks and active earmuffs), 251 uniform components, and 100s of tactical gear and other items. For example, we delivered 120 active earmuffs to the frontlines to protect the hearing of Ukrainian Defenders. The sounds made by explosions can cause irreversible damage to the human hearing system, up to complete hearing loss. Active earmuffs protect Defenders’ auditory systems while still allowing them to communicate. Thanks to supporters like you, we can continue supplying the Defenders who are standing up to unrelenting aggression. Thank you!
DRONE JAMMER PROJECT UPDATE
In May, we also completed Phase 1 of the drone jammer project we wrote about in the last newsletter, and are now moving onto Phase 2. The previous phase of this project focused on providing vehicle-mounted drone jammers to small groups of Defenders. The initial samples of these devices were ordered, shipped, and tested in a laboratory and field settings by the 72nd brigade and other units.
These results give us necessary information to move forward with Phase 2: ordering the rest of these 20 devices, and raising funds for the next batch of 10. The need for these jammers is greater than the resources we have. Please contribute what you can to Give Drone Jammers to Ukrainian Defenders!
SEND UKRAINIAN KIDS TO SUMMER CAMP - YOUR DONATIONS WILL BE MATCHED!
Growing up in a wartorn country deprives children of parts of childhood they’ll never reclaim. Parents have less time to pay attention to you, school takes place in a bomb shelter (if at all), and extracurricular activities like summer camps are postponed until better days. But when you are a child, what’s more important than a parent’s attention, the joy of learning new things, playing with your friends? The Help Kids Smile project is aimed at helping Ukrainian families meet their children’s basic and educational needs. Our generous donor Vala Soloway is stepping up to match all contributions up to $6,000. Contribute to this campaign today, and any amount you contribute to Help Kids Smile campaign will have twice the impact!
The summertime phase of this project is focused on helping Ukrainian children attend outdoor educational camps organized by the Rivne branch of the Plast national scouting organization. This summer, Rivne Plast will host two camps in June and August for kids ages 6-10 years, and two camps in July for teenagers ages 10-16, with 50-60 participants each. Funds raised through “Help Kids Smile” during May, June and July will be used to provide a $50-$100 credit toward participation costs for the 15-25% of kids attending the camp, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend. Contribute today, and your help will be doubled by Vala’s generous contribution, so that we can spread seeds of hope to Ukrainian children this summer.
THE STRONG LINKS IN OUR CHAIN OF AID
Throughout the year, Sunflower Seeds Ukraine volunteers in the United States solicit medical supplies from hospitals, convert solar panels into charging stations, host fundraising and outreach events, and more. The goal? To collect, source and buy enough medical, protective, tactical and power-generating equipment to fill 2-3 shipping containers per year for delivery to Ukraine. In the beginning of May, one of these containers arrived in Ukraine, where it was unpacked into our warehouse by members of the Sunflower Seeds Ukraine team in Ukraine. Every week, volunteers in Ukraine process requests from Defenders, and then pack and deliver the requested supplies. The chain of aid remains strong - we are already in the process of repacking and assembling the next container from Colorado to Ukraine. Learn more on our website and help us ship the next container of aid!
Everything you see in these photos was unpacked by hand by our team members in Ukraine, prepared by our volunteers in America, and made possible by supporters from around the world. This chain is a manifestation of humanity and a common belief in the importance of fighting for one’s freedom, one’s culture, national sovereignty – for the opportunity to live and choose a path. We are grateful to our donors, who provide finances for the gear. We thank everyone who is helping Ukraine persevere. Aid is not about sympathy – it is about ensuring a future in which freedom to choose and democratic values prevail.
TEAM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: ALANA BRACK
Meet Alana – a proud Colorado native who helps manage the Sunflower Seeds Ukraine website and who frequently represents Sunflower Seeds Ukraine at events. Alana's connection to Ukraine is personal: Ukraine is her partner’s homeland.
Alana first got involved with Sunflower Seeds Ukraine in 2023, during a trip to Poland, when she volunteered to carry luggage containing aid for Ukraine to Poland. She decided to support us because of the ties that underpin its “genuine intentions and reliability,” explains Alana. “Sunflower Seeds Ukraine distinguishes itself from other nonprofits that support Ukraine by focusing on providing aid to Defenders, which Ukraine desperately needs right now to keep civilians safe.”
Asked what she would like others to know about Ukraine, Alana says: “Everyday, russians continue their brutal assault on Ukrainian national and cultural identity, and innocent Ukrainians are killed simply for being Ukrainian. Americans must understand that Ukraine is not only fighting for its sovereignty, but also for the safety and sovereignty of Europe and its allies.”
To read more about Alana, go to our Patreon page, where we post longer profiles of our team members from around the world. There, you also can find exclusive behind-the-scenes videos that show how we get supplies where they’re needed and interviews with recipients of our aid at the front lines.
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD
Please forward this email to anyone who might be interested, or use this form to subscribe or unsubscribe. The web version of this and all previous newsletters is here. For more frequent updates about our work, please like our Facebook page, follow us on Instagram, Twitter/X, 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.
*Misspelling and lower-casing proper names in this newsletter are intentional and used as signs of disdain and disrespect. Similarly, uppercasing of words such as Defenders are intentional and used as signs of respect and appreciation.
Note: Sunflower Seeds Ukraine raises funds as an initiative of Ukrainians of Colorado, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations and gifts are tax deductible to the full extent allowed under IRS regulations and the U.S. law.
