The Rotary Club of Chatham Sunrise is launching a new fundraiser to help out Ukrainians.
The club will be distributing 2,000 packets of sunflower seeds for a donation of $5 each, with a goal of raising $10,000. Funds raised through the sale of the seeds will be forwarded to a Ukrainian Rotary Club to help with humanitarian relief.
Rotary Sunrise Member and Sunflowers for Ukraine Project Coordinator Paul Roy said the local group is just one of many Rotary Clubs across the world participating in the project.
He added that in addition to helping out the people of Ukraine, Rotary Sunrise also hopes the project leads to sunflowers blooming across the municipality this summer.
"The second goal of the project is to try to get some sunflowers planted all over Chatham-Kent this summer," Roy explained. "We'd like to see them planted around mailboxes, front yards, wherever they're visible so that this summer when people in Chatham-Kent drive around, they'll remember the sunflowers were for Ukraine."
The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine and is an integral part of Ukrainian culture and folklore. The sunflower seed variety chosen for the packets is the aptly named Ukrainian Sunrise.
Roy said the Rotary Club worked with a garden company based out of Prince Edward Island that helped them select the best variety of flower and provided the seeds free of charge.
"It's a beautiful variety," said Roy. "People who know sunflowers know that they can sometimes grow very tall but this variety is five to seven feet in height and will not require staking."
Photo courtesy Paul Roy
Club members are now distributing the packets to various retail locations in the municipality. Roy said they will become available starting on Monday and be offered over the next eight weeks. To learn more about what locations are carrying the seeds, Roy said residents can visit The Rotary Club of Chatham Sunrise Facebook page or email chathamsunriserotaryclub@gmail.com.