Over this coming weekend, between June 17 and 19, Victoria Mills and her mother will be selling sunflowers at the Pemberton Farmers' Market and at Whistler's Upper Village Market grocery store to raise money for Ukraine.
For Mills, the cause is personal due to her family connection to Ukraine. “All of our family is from Ukraine, so we have quite a strong connection there. I guess that's kind of the bottom line: our family ties to Ukraine and how much I've seen this affect people like my Baba and my grandmother. She's very emotional about what's happening there, and we just wanted to help any way we could,” Mills said.
“We're over 100 days [into the war] now. Which I don't think anyone expected. The Ukrainians are very strong, and they're doing a very good job of holding their own. It's pretty incredible that they're fighting one of the strongest armies in the world, and they're able to resist as long as they have already.
“I think it's really brought a lot of pride to Ukrainians, in Ukraine and also [for] Ukrainians all over the world. Like I've never felt more proud to be Ukrainian. I think the Russians are trying to abolish Ukrainian culture, and it's kind of done the opposite of what they wanted to accomplish.”
The sunflower is an important symbol in Ukraine. It is the national flower of the country and is widely grown. In a small act of resistance, some Ukrainian grandmothers have taken to throwing sunflower seeds at Russian soldiers so that when the soldiers die, a sunflower will pop up where they are buried.
“The sunflower has become a really prominent symbol of solidarity during this crisis, and then also things in history as well,” Mills said.
As well as sunflowers, Mills will also be selling beaded bracelets, stickers, tote bags made with a logo designed by a Ukrainian still in Ukraine and scrunchies made from traditional Ukrainian fabric.
The Ukraine conflict stretches back to late 2013, when large-scale, pro-European protests, known as the Euromaidan or Maidan Uprising, toppled the pro-Russian government.
After the Euromaidan revolution, pro-Russian protests began in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine. Some of these groups would end up openly declaring secession from the country, leading to a conflict in the Donbas region of Eastern Ukraine with Russian-backed forces.
During this period, the Crimean peninsula was occupied and annexed by Russia.
The war in the Donbas would continue as a low-level conflict for several years until Russia launched a large-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, with plans to annex more of Ukraine or install a new government in Kyiv.
Through the first 100 days, the invasion has not gone in Russia’s favour. Against many outside observers' expectations, Ukraine rallied together and beat back the main push on the capital and the border city of Kharkiv.
Victoria and her mother will be at the Pemberton Farmers' Market on Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. and at the Upper Village Market grocery store in Whistler from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
“We can also take donations at the event, and 100 per cent of the proceeds are going to Maple Hope Foundation,” Mills said.
Find more info about the Maple Hope Foundation and make a donation here.
