About
We're excited to announce that the Sunflower Collective will be helping yet another Ukrainian refugee family that escaped horrors of this was and are now living in Chicago. Sasha Matvieieva and her 9-year-old daughter, Sofiia, escaped aerial bombardments and ruthless Russian army occupation of their hometown of Kherson in the spring of 2022. After many weeks in the car and on random trains throughout Europe, they ended up settling in Chicago, where Sofiia has been going to school and Sasha has been learning English and trying to make their ends meet by working various parts time jobs.
Like many other families, they're starting out from zero, but they're full of optimism and determined to make it work and we're excited to lend them a hand as they're starting their new lives in the US.
About the Collective
The Sunflower Collective is made up of three families from Evanston and Park Ridge, IL that were distraught by the news of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, and felt helpless to assist efforts a world away. Looking to funnel their anger and disbelief into action, the families banded together with a common goal of directly helping Ukrainian refugees.
We are currently assisting families with resettlement in the Chicagoland area through Uniting for Ukraine, a sponsorship program through the Department of Homeland Security, that was recently announced by the Biden Administration.
The first family that the collective is sponsoring is the Studinskiy family from Kyiv.
The Studinskiys are family friends of Kostya Katz, one of Sunflower Collective founding members and are being directly sponsored by the Collective.
Company Match & Tax Deductions
The Sunflower Collective accepts donations through our fiscal sponsor Open Collective. Open Collective Foundation (OCF) is a 501c3 which means donations made to us are tax deductible. EIN 81-4004928.
When you donate, there is a 4% fee that goes to cover their operating expenses. Again, you may also choose to cover that fee so that 100% of your donation goes to the family.
To have your company match your donation, follow these instructions: https://docs.opencollective.foundation/how-it-works/financial-contributions/donation-matching
Meet our first family, the Studinskiy's
The Studinskiy’s (Andrei, Natasha, Nikita and Timofei) are a humble, hardworking family who never thought they would be facing an impossible choice between living in constant fear in their own home or leaving everything behind and fleeing their homeland. Natasha and her boys are leaving Andrei behind so he can fight for their country. They are stuffing what they can into a suitcase and backpacks, leaving Ukraine for Chicago.
Over the coming weeks, we will be assisting the family with travel. When they arrive, we’ll be focused on finding them an apartment, furnishing it, and helping the family with groceries, clothing, and helping get the boys into schools. As soon as we get them on their feet, our focus will turn to helping them with more permanent immigration status and helping Natasha find work to support her boys.
Our team
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Let’s get the ball rolling!
News from Sunflower Collective
Updates on our activities and progress.
New family to benefit from your donations!
Hello Everyone, Apologies for being too quiet for too long, but I can assure you that we're been working hard trying to collect additional funds and physical donations as well as ensure that they're spent/distributed in the most meaningful...
Published on March 31, 2023 by Kostya Katz
September Update
Hello everyone, Apologies for being quiet for the past few weeks, but everyone has been super busy so we fell a bit behind on keeping you up to date on the latest developments... Our first Ukrainian family (Studinskyi Natalia, Tima, and Nik...
Published on October 3, 2022 by Kostya Katz
First two weeks in Chicago
Hello everybody and thank you once again for your amazing donations and for your kind messages for the Studinskyi family. They have now been in Chicago for 2+ weeks and we've been busy trying to get them acquainted with the surroundings, in...
Published on August 5, 2022 by Kostya Katz
Budget
Transparent and open finances.
Credit from Open Collective Foundation to Sunflower Collective •
+$1.13USD
Completed
Added funds #792791
Partial Rent Assistance for Sasha and Sofiia - September 2024
Category
Program Housing & Lodging
from Kostya Katz to Sunflower Collective •
-$161.74 USD
Paid
Rent Assistance for Sasha and Sofiia - August 2024
Category
Program Housing & Lodging
from Kostya Katz to Sunflower Collective •
-$1,129.99 USD
Paid
$
Today’s balance--.-- USD
Total raised
$33,574.46 USD
Total disbursed
$33,574.46 USD
Estimated annual budget
$1.13 USD