Mother, daughter duo aim to support Ukraine

When Madison Fleischer saw what was happening in Ukraine via the news and social media, she knew she wanted to find a way to help.

The 23-year-old student from Surrey, whose maternal great-grandparents hailed from Lviv, started brainstorming ideas with her mother Lisa in the hopes of hatching a plan that would help them to provide some support.

Fleischer recalled in an email, noting that it was the efforts and pleas of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that further spurred the ambition to assist. Slava Sweatshirts was the result.

“I decided to get the ball rolling in the most creative, longterm way to show ones support — by wearing it,” she says of the small clothing startup launched on March 26, which sees full proceeds donated toward causes in support of Ukraine.

The gear ranges in price from $2 to $68 and is available for purchase online at slavasweatshirts.com. The garments can also be bought via the X-treme Clothing Boutique in Tsawwassen.

“We are donating 50 per cent of the proceeds by directly bank-wiring it to Ukraine’s National Bank,” Fleischer explains of the donation breakdown. “The remaining 50 per cent is donated to the Red Cross Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.”

So far, Fleischer estimates that the early donations will be “in the thousands thus far” thanks to the interest of shoppers.

“Our ambition is truly to provide Ukraine with as much funds as possible.”