Gardens for Ukraine

Sleep Well, Ukraine, a St. Joseph-based humanitarian organization, has just announced their construction of a large neighborhood greenhouse on the west edge of Kyiv. The structure will help provide food for over 200 civilian families.

Sleep Well, Ukraine is directed by the St. Joseph Music Foundation, which manages the only locally owned radio station in St. Joseph, KFOH-FM (99.3).
Their daily “Sleep Well…” radio program (launched last December) broadcasts lullabies at children’s bedtime in Ukraine (8-9 p.m. there, noon to 1 p.m. in St. Joseph).
“The radio show has a solid following in Ukraine, and we’re proud that this action originated here in St. Joseph, Missouri. Ukrainian parents can access the broadcast via any web device to help their children fall asleep to the sound of music rather than the sound of combat,” said KFOH Station Manager Michael Fuson.
Anthony Glise, the radio program host, continued, “The ‘Sleep Well…’ broadcasts are helping the kids sleep, but we wanted to do more—those kids need to eat—so we aligned with the agriculture department at University of Kyiv which is heading a project to build greenhouses and transport garden seed into the combat regions to help feed the children and stockpile food for this winter.”

Thus, the Foundation’s newest outreach, Gardens for Ukraine.
“As a non-profit organization,” continued Michael, “we’ve received some very generous tax-deductible donations from private, regional, and several major international contributors, and 100% of every donation goes directly to this project. This has nothing to do with politics—this is about helping innocent children survive in a militarized zone.”

With their ongoing “Sleep Well, Ukraine” radio program and their Gardens for Ukraine projects in place, their next action is just as critical: Stay Warm, Ukraine plans to convoy several thousand liters of heating oil into Ukraine, where this winter’s temperatures are projected to drop far below zero.

“Stay Warm, Ukraine is more complex,” explained Anthony. “Because coal oil is flammable, we must conform to Ukrainian military concerns. For example, if the opposing forces receive intel that an incendiary convoy is moving, they simply have to hover a drone over a bridge on that route, wait for the convoy, and they could destroy both the convoy and nearby allied infrastructures, such as a bridge or even an entire village.”

“The bottom line,” added Fuson, “is that no child on earth should ever learn the sounds—or consequences—of war.”
Follow their Facebook site, Sleep Well, Ukraine, which also gives the web link for the daily radio broadcasts and an ongoing stream of member-submitted music videos available worldwide, 24/7.