in Chatsworth, Grey Highlands, Southgate, West Grey
August 28, 2025
As they mark their 30th anniversary on August 28, the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) looks back with immense gratitude on three transformative decades of Canadian compassion and Ukrainian resilience. Since 1995, generous Canadians have entrusted CUF to be their bridge to Ukraine, and together, have witnessed extraordinary achievements that seemed impossible just years ago.
From their early days coordinating small-scale projects to becoming a vital lifeline during Ukraine's darkest hours, Canadians' support has enabled remarkable milestones. During the Orange Revolution, they mobilized nearly 500 Canadian election observers across multiple missions, with the Canadian Ukrainian community urging the Government of Canada to send additional observers, helping safeguard Ukraine's democratic future.
Through the Canada Ukraine Surgical Aid Program (CUSAP) surgical missions, a joint initiative, Canadian medical professionals have volunteered their time over the years to perform life-changing reconstructive surgeries for hundreds of war victims, giving veterans the chance to walk again after devastating injuries.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the incredible generosity of their donors has delivered more than $95 million in humanitarian aid, reaching over 6 million people. CUF has provided food boxes sustaining entire families across Ukraine, delivered thermal blankets and wood-burning stoves to households enduring winters without electricity, and supplied essential medical equipment to more than 35 hospitals along the frontlines. Our emergency response has also included evacuation boats during the Nova Kakhovka Dam disaster and critical supplies when Russia struck Kyiv’s Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital.
They have funded prosthetics and rehabilitation for wounded veterans, supported mental health programs, and provided shelter for thousands of displaced families. Their work extends beyond emergency response — from supporting displaced Ukrainians rebuilding their lives safely across Canada with their Displaced Ukrainians Appeal, to educating students about the Holodomor genocide through the Holodomor National Awareness Tour (HNAT)’s mobile classroom, to fostering youth hockey development with the Canadian Friends of Hockey in Ukraine (CFHU), connecting young Canadians and Ukrainians through sport. CUF has also helped preserve Ukrainian culture through our Aid for Artists program.
CUF has accomplished a lot, but there is still more work to do. The organization is thankful for 30 years of extraordinary generosity, for believing in their mission, and for showing that Canadian compassion knows no borders. In this anniversary year, they look forward to sharing more about their upcoming initiatives and projects that build upon three decades of humanitarian work and address the evolving needs of Ukrainians facing unprecedented hardship.
Locally, the Sunflower Foundation has reacted with its own brand of local support for Ukrainian families families displaced by war. The Foundation was founded by Flesherton residents Heiner Philipp and Susanne von Toerne, to support Ukrainian refugees in Canada. Its mission is to aid Ukrainian newcomers in Canada by helping them integrate and build a new life. The name Sunflower was chosen because the sunflower is a national symbol of Ukraine, representing hope, resilience, and resistance.
Inspired by the February 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that left many women and children homeless and hopeless, Phillip and Toerne have given several Ukrainian families a home in Canada and have been supporting them ever since.
Their activities include:
To donate to the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, visit their donation page.
To donate to the Sunflower Foundation, visit their donation page.
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