People in the US rush to help Türkiye, Syria
In Medford, Massachusetts, boxes of winter clothes, baby food, toiletries and other supplies are piled up at the Freerange Market, a hangout for Turkish immigrants near Boston. The supplies are destined for survivors of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck south-east Turkiye and northern Syria on February 6.
Hundreds of people donated more than 20 truckloads of supplies to be shipped to Türkiye, according to Cenk Emre, the market’s owner. “It’s just people coming together, neighbors tell neighbors, friends tell friends,” Emre told CBS News Boston.
In nearby Norwood, Valentina Akyol uses her restaurant’s catering vans to raise funds, including warm clothes and baby food. “When you see people suffering, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are,” she told CBS. “If we can help in any way, we should.”
As the US government dispatched search and rescue teams to Türkiye and Syria and announced $85 million in emergency aid, people across the United States are raising money and donating supplies to help long-term recovery from the earthquake.
Here are some of the places people are rushing to across the United States to support relief efforts.
new York
New Yorkers donated hundreds of boxes of supplies including clothing, diapers and building materials at the Turkish Community Center in Brighton Beach. The Turkish consulate in New York is delivering the relief supplies to the survivors of the earthquake.
Washington, D.C
Volunteers gathered outside Türkiye’s embassy in Washington and sorted clothing, medicines, batteries, shoes, baby food and emergency kits for the affected communities.
“Our hearts are with the people of Türkiye and we know they are in pain and this is causing us pain,” said Selma Sahin, an embassy volunteer who organized donations.
Michigan
In the days following the earthquake, Abdulrahman Al-Dahhan traveled the United States raising money in schools, places of worship and on social media to support humanitarian relief efforts.
Al-Dahhan, a Syrian American who works for The aid organization Mercy-USA, based in Michigan, told CNN he has raised over $100,000 and that his colleagues abroad are using the money to support earthquake survivors.
Illinois
The Chicago-based nonprofit Karam Foundation, which supports displaced Syrians, has raised over $800,000 for earthquake relief, according to its website. Karam and his associates are also delivering food baskets, blankets and mattresses to people in the earthquake-hit cities of Aleppo, Syria, and Hatay, Türkiye.
Washington
Nechirvan Zebari, a baker from Seattle, is selling alongside volunteers from the Manakish community to raise funds for relief efforts. Zebari wants people to taste the dish popular in Türkiye and Syria while raising money to support the people of those countries. “We want to maximize the amount of money we can send there,” he told the Seattle Times.
Ohio
Doctors and nurses from the Ohio-based Syrian American Medical Society have treated more than 2,000 earthquake survivors, according to the BBC.
The Medical Association, which damaged four of its facilities in earthquakes, employs over 1,700 people in Syria and is deploying others to hard-hit areas.
California
People across California are collecting supplies for earthquake relief efforts. Nil Noyan of the Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California in San Diego said Wall Street Journal The group is collecting medical supplies, tents, blankets, sleeping bags and other cold-weather gear for displaced survivors facing freezing temperatures.
Members of the Northern California Turkish-American Association in East Palo Alto have packed more than 200 boxes of donations to send to those affected by the earthquake.
Texas
Turkish-American groups in North Texas sent nearly 20,000 pounds (9,000 kilograms) of winter clothing, canned goods, toiletries and baby items, and other supplies to Türkiye. “They are all mobilized and mobilized,” Serhad Varli, Turkey’s consul general in Houston, told ABC News. “They are acting together to provide any assistance needed.”
Indiana
Perdue University Turkish Students Association is working with hundreds of US universities to collect clothes, blankets and tents and raise money for earthquake victims. “To date we have collectively raised approximately $220,000,” Kaan Cankiri, treasurer of the association, told Perdue exponent.
North Carolina
Samaritan’s Purse, an international aid organization based in Boone, North Carolina, opened a 52-bed emergency field hospital in Antakya, Türkiye, and began treating earthquake victims on February 13.
