These N.L. small business owners are getting creative to support Ukraine

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, some Newfoundland and Labrador businesses are getting creative to show solidarity with the country under attack.

Kristna Adamov is raising money for UNICEF Ukraine through her business, Newfoundland Floral Design. As the mother of a three-year-old, she said, she couldn't stop thinking about the Ukrainian mothers looking after children while fleeing the attacks.

"I can look after my child and feed her. What do the mothers do when they're struggling to survive?" she asked. "It's cold. It's just dangerous. And they're getting bombed at night."

According to Ukraine's minister of defence, hundreds of civilians have been killed since the invasion began Thursday. Thousands more have been displaced.

Adamov, originally from Prague,is donating all proceeds from bouquets ordered this week, and 20 per cent of proceeds from bouquets ordered from next week until Mother'sDay.

The fundraiser began Saturday, and Adamov said she raised about $3,000 in the first two daysand orders are skyrocketing. She said she was up until 4 a.m. putting bouquets together, and she hasrecruited a team of volunteers to help with delivery.

"Newfoundland is really a community. They can't just sit and watch."

Close to home

She said the fundraiser was partially inspired by her mother, who was 18 when Warsaw Pact forces occupied Prague in 1968.

"Tanks were invading the city and people were getting shot at," Adamov said. "I feel like she's reliving it because she knows a lot of people from Ukraine who are currently experiencing this catastrophe."

Adamov noted Ukraine's capital, Kyiv currently under attack is only about a day's drive from Prague.

"It's literally just like from here to Gros Morne and back."

Adamov said she knows Ukrainians affected by the invasion too, many of them mothers working in the Czech Republic and sending money home to their families.

"Now, they're stuck in Czech Republic, heartbroken, and their mother or other relative is looking after their child because the father is in the war," she said. "That is the reality."

Painting and baking

Massive rallies in solidarity with Ukraine were held in cities across the country, and Newfoundland and Labrador was no exception. A St. John's rally drew hundreds of participantsSaturday.

Other small businesses donated money; Fogo Island artist Adam Young raised about $25,000 for Voices for Children Ukraine.

Krista Neville, the owner of Volcano Bakery in Conception Bay South, has begun baking heart-shaped cookies decorated with the Ukrainian flag, and is donating the proceeds to the Red Cross.

"You see all this turmoil going on in the world and you just want to do your little part to help," she explained. "And the only thing I really thought I could do was bake."

She said the first batch of 60 sold out in about an hour on Saturday morning.

"It didn't surprise me that the community was super-supportive," she said. "That's like one cookie a minute."

Neville said she hopes other small businesses and artists follow suit.

"I really hope there's other people out there who are able to use their talent, use their creative abilities for good stuff."

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