AFSC launches fundraiser to help humanitarian efforts in Turkey and Syria

Layne Mullett
Director of Media Relations

215-241-7085
news@afsc.org

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PHILADELPHIA, PA (February 10, 2023) – The American Friends Service Committee is raising funds to support relief work in Turkey and Syria. Millions are affected by the recent earthquake, left without shelter, warm clothing for the harsh winter, or access to clean water and healthy food. Plans are underway with a local partner to deliver emergency kits with essentials such as tents, blankets, and canned food. 

Donations can be made online here at afsc.org. Donations by mail can be sent to AFSC Earthquake Response, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102. 

More than 20,000 people have lost of their lives and another tens of thousands are injured after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on February 6. The situation calls for a global response.

In addition to providing relief funding, AFSC is advocating for the U.S. government to lift humanitarian sanctions on Syria, so relief can better arrive to the millions affected in the country. 

“We need to do everything we can to help with the recovery work in Turkey and Syria. Among those impacted in Syria are the Syrian refugees who remain displaced in their own country and in Turkey. The impact also includes thousands of refugees and the community which has been sheltering them for years,” said Khaled Elkouz, Regional Director, Middle East for AFSC. “AFSC has a long history of working with Syrian refugees. This is an opportunity for people across the globe to come together to support this humanitarian effort.” 

This fundraiser is part of AFSC’s long history of work on community-led humanitarian assistance. AFSC was first founded in 1917 to find ways people can serve humanity without serving in the military during World War I. The organization received a Nobel Peace Prize for humanitarian efforts during and between WWI and WWII, on behalf of AFSC’s and other Quaker works and has responded to many natural and human-made disasters since. 

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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.