About The March Initiative
Since 2022, we have supported Ukraine in several ways. Among other things through Facebook groups and direct contact with others who support those in need in Ukraine in various ways.
In March 2023, we took the initiative for The March Initiative.
Our idea is to let all profits in the company go to Ukraine. By that we mean that the company does not pay out either a dividend to the owners or a salary. We donate material and equipment to the healthcare, emergency services, civilians and various units within the Ukrainian defense.
We have direct contact in several locations in Ukraine and receive regular updates on what is needed right now and where the help makes the most impact.
Our three ways of getting income are through the sale of Ukrainian coffee, the sale of outdoor equipment and through donations
The story behind The March Initiative and the Coffee from Lviv
We are passionate about helping and we are passionate about good coffee. We have managed to arrange it so well for us that we can sell really good coffee and help the most needy people in Ukraine doubly. Partly by buying from Ukrainian companies and partly by donating the entire profit to those who need the most help in Ukraine.
Unlike the large aid organizations that collect sky-high salaries, The March Initiative works entirely on a non-profit basis
The story begins sometime after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Tom hoped that Sweden would send troops to Ukraine to help the Ukrainian defense fight the occupiers. Had that happened, Tom would have applied for that assignment. When Sweden decided not to send troops, there were several who chose to leave the safety in Sweden and help on the ground in Ukraine with what they could. A former colleague of Tom (Johan) chose to resign. He went to Ukraine to help out with aid shipments. His background within the Swedish defense meant that he, as one of very few, ensured that the help reached all the way to the worst affected at the front. None of the big, well-known organizations went there.
Johan was in contact with the Ukrainian defense to know where he could drive relatively safely. He depended on receiving accurate intelligence to survive. It was not uncommon, however, for him to be in areas that were bombed by the Russians and fired upon with missiles and artillery shells.
The contacts he made led to him being offered to train the Ukrainian Defense Forces in tactical combat, which he decided to do. Month after month he trained them and assisted in evacuations of civilians from areas where the Russians were bombing.
Tom kept in touch with Johan and they talked about how to help and support from home. Tom promised to support Johan, so he began organizing fundraisers for anything that could help Johan and the units he trained. Tom and a friend went all the way to the front in eastern Ukraine where they handed over a whole van load of supplies, electrical equipment, medical equipment, drones, hygiene items, blankets, uniforms, underwear, gloves, hats, shoes, rag socks, food bags (rations) and much more directly in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers and officers.
The boundless joy and gratitude they encountered along the way in all roadblocks and with the units filled them with an unimaginable feeling of having really helped.
On the way to the front, they stayed with an acquaintance in Lviv. After a few hours of sleep they would set off. Ola, with whom they were staying, offered them a cup of coffee before departure. Tom and his friend took a first sip of the coffee, stopped and looked at each other. They exclaimed almost at the same time - What good coffee! They asked Ola what it was and were shown a small red package of coffee with Cyrillic characters.
All the way to and from the front they looked for the coffee without finding it until they got to Lviv on the way back. There in a store, Tom got hold of three packages. One red, one green and one black. And when they spent the night in Lviv again, Ola had bought them each a package.
Back home in Sweden, fantastic coffee was offered which was appreciated by many. A colleague, who knew Russian, explained that it said Espresso (Еспрессо) on the package and "Coffee from Lviv" (Кава зи Львова). It turned out that the coffee was produced in Lviv!
The next trip in Ukraine, Tom stopped in a large supermarket and filled a large bag with coffee, which he sold through his Facebook group "Direct Help to Ukraine".
Then the idea to start the business was born and at the end of March 2023, Tom together with his brother Johan took the initiative to start The March Initiative.
Three weeks after the start of sales, they had sold over 300 packages of coffee!
The profit goes, among other things, to buy emergency first aid (trauma kit) which is donated to those in need at the front