Devasted by what’s happening in Ukraine, a Waterloo Engineering alumnus with deep ties to the country is supporting its humanitarian relief efforts through sales of her vodka brand in Ontario liquor stores.
Katherine Vellinga is helping Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion of their homeland by donating 100 per cent of profit made from Zirkova Vodka
Katherine (BASc ’92, systems design), whose parents were born in Ukraine, discovered the spirit’s origins and traditions while living and starting a consulting business in the country with her husband John Vellinga (BASc ‘91 systems design and management sciences) in the late 1990s.
Katherine and John Vellinga
Returning home to Canada in 2002, they launched Zirkova Vodka, which is headquartered in Oakville, Ontario, and produced in Ukraine.
“We partnered with a distillery in Zolotonosha, Ukraine that has been around since the 1800s and is in the Cherkasy region, which is the historic birthplace of vodka, “ John said in an interview a few years ago for Waterloo Engineering Alumni Letter (WEAL). "The people who make our vodka are experts, so we couldn’t think of a better place to produce than the place vodka originated from.”
As of March 15, limited supplies of the company’s three types of vodka remain in stock at the LCBO.