October 2024
“Put sunflower seeds in your pockets…” said a Ukrainian woman to the russian invaders who came to her small hometown during the first days of the invastion. Within days of this act of bravery, Sunflower Seeds Ukraine began sending supplies to Ukrainians, one box or suitcase at a time. At first, this aid was made possible by individual acts of support by just a handful of people, and no one thought this war would last. Yet, almost three years later, Sunflower Seeds Ukraine has provided six 40ft shipping containers and $1,000,000 worth of supplies to more than 6,678 Defenders.
The volume of aid we have distributed has been made possible by the kindness of more than 2,000 donors and the work of dozens of volunteers. Combined, more than 3,000 acts of generosity, most commonly $50 or $100 at a time, have added up to something much bigger that has had a broad-reaching impact. Thank you to all who have stepped up to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom.
In this issue, we honor all of our supporters and highlight some of the Patrons who bolster our work in the biggest and most frequent ways, month after month. We share updates about supplies we distributed during September, report on a current initiative, “Keep Defenders Warm,” profile team member Katya, and provide news from Ukraine. Read on—or read no further and simply click ’Donate Now!’ to help us continue to provide key medical, protective, tactical, and humanitarian aid to Ukrainian people today.
Let’s show Ukrainians we care! Let’s fuel their strength and resolve! Together we are stronger!
Becky, Kyle, Cyndi, Natalie, Andriy and all of us at
Sunflower Seeds Ukraine
Spread Seeds of Help!
P.S. We are looking for new ways to connect with our supporters, and might be reaching out to some of you via a text message - not more than once a week during the Holiday season, and usually less frequent than that. If you would rather not receive these text messages - please let us know by responding to this email, or opt out via the text message you receive.
YOUR DONATIONS AT WORK: SEPTEMBER 2024
In September, we surpassed a milestone we never imagined possible: We exceeded the $1,000,000 mark in the value of aid we have provided since the beginning of the war. We have provided this aid to 6,678 Defenders one package at a time, one donation at a time. Thank you to all of you in Colorado, in the United States, and around the world who have helped us along the way. Still, we wish that this war was not happening, so we did not have to do it.
During the month of September, we provided we provided 311 Ukrainian Defenders with: 164 individual first aid kits (including tourniquets, chest seals and 10 other components), 241 protective equipment items (knee pads, earmuffs, etc.), 575 tactical gear items (vests, backpacks, canteens, and other such gear), 445 uniform components (including boots and hats), 113 optical devices (binoculars and others), and 56 other items (for example, solar panels and oxygen concentrators). In high demand this month were backpacks and binoculars, boots and uniforms. Infinite thanks to the 78 donors who provided support this month!
And with winter fast approaching, we are receiving many requests from Ukrainian Defenders for warm clothing and chemical hand and foot warmers.
HELP US KEEP UKRAINIAN DEFENDERS WARM!
Ukrainian winters are notoriously cold, with high relative humidity. Imagine the coldest winter’s day in Minnesota or Ontario, which are at approximately the same latitude as central Ukraine. Then imagine being hunkered down in a trench in those temperatures. Proper winter gear is critical to ensuring that the Defenders at the front lines are warm enough to be able to remain focused on their mission.
Please help us provide cold-weather gear to Ukrainian Defenders, so they can stay warm enough to focus on their mission. Every dollar we raise with this initiative will go toward purchasing hand and foot chemical warmers ($10), thermal underwear ($25), fleece jackets ($50), Gore-Tex parkas and pants ($100)—winter gear that Ukrainian Defenders have identified as critical this season. To learn more about and/or contribute, go to Keep Ukrainian Defenders Warm!
HONORING OUR SUPPORTERS AND PATRONS
We are immensely grateful to each of our donors. Today, we want to highlight a few of our Patrons - major contributors whose large and consistent support has been invaluable to Sunflower Seeds Ukraine. They include: Jonathan G., Vala S., Vladimir S. Tim G., Matthew D., Misha Y., Michael F., Dmytro O., Kostya S., Jane Z., Scott H., John K., George N., Gayle H., Pat L., Steve R., Derek A., Suzanne O., Scott H., Oksana L., Sophie W., Anna K., Illia M., Louise C., Bob S., Andriy Z., Akiko A., Cooper H., Edmund R., Dimitri D., Sarah S., Martha C., Allan T., Ruth T., Ellen C., Val A., Viktor O., Rita T., Richard P., Stephen S., Janine G., Slava F., Andy S., Phil P., Bruce L., Alina K., Linda M., Rostia S., Robin R., Connie Z., Fred S., Alex P., Marin P., Sarah S., Celine M., T. Sakakura, Michelle F., Ulana B., Becky R., Pavel M., Irina F., Lee H., Zhanna L.
As the war in Ukraine rages on, sustained patrons are critical to ensure that we can continue providing life-saving aid to Defenders and affected civilians. If you are committed to standing with Ukraine for as long as needed, please join the select circle of our monthly supporters on Patreon. Or if you know of an organization that is willing to commit its support to this mission in the long term, please get in touch.
TEAM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: KATYA GRISAK
Meet Katya, one of our team members and a student at the University of Colorado Boulder. Katya’s parents immigrated to the United States from Kyiv, Ukraine in 2003, and her grandparents still live in Lviv. She was the first of her family members to be born in the U.S.
Katya became involved with Sunflower Seeds Ukraine after a fellow student spotted her dorm room Ukrainian flag and invited her to join a new club for Ukrainian-Americans. Through it, she met one of our team members, Ulana, and started helping with event tabling. The power of the organization, Katya says, lies in its “grassroots identity” as well as the way “each member contributes their talents.” Since SFSU can move quickly in response to Defenders’ shifting needs, “the entire process from fundraising to delivery is very streamlined, flexible, and efficient.”
Katya helps Ukrainian Defenders both because “Ukraine is fighting to preserve its sovereignty against a cruel and unjust invasion” and because her own family members living there are directly affected by the war. She believes that since Ukrainians have a long history of resistance, “they will fight harder than anyone else” to protect their freedom.
To read more about Katya, 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.
UPDATE FROM UKRAINE: ENERGY CRISIS ESCALATES
Since the start of the war, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been a key target of russian drone and missile strikes, leaving Ukraine with just one-third of its pre-war energy capacity. These attacks have grave humanitarian consequences, with millions facing power shortages and limited access to essential services such as water distribution and health and emergency services. Families are faced with below-freezing temperatures without heat, and surgeons are forced to operate with only the light from headlamps. With temperatures expected to drop below -10°C this winter, the International Energy Agency warns of serious humanitarian risks if heating remains unavailable.
With the help of our supporters, Sunflower Seeds Ukraine has delivered more than 150 solar panel chargers to Ukrainian Defenders and civilians facing energy scarcity. As the victims of russian war crimes struggle to keep their families warm this winter, we want to thank you for your continued support in providing what reprieve we can to the Ukrainians fighting for their homeland.
To read more of this story, head to our blog pots on our web site, where you can also find other interesting and engaging content about our work in Ukraine.
Sources: IEA.org; Amnesty.org; ICRC.org; Public International Law & Policy Group; X.com; Newsweek; Ukraine.un.org; UN.org
HELP US SPREAD THE WORD
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*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.
