Choose one of these charities to support with a donation to help earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria with life-saving food, water, shelter, warm clothing and medical services, and start the rebuilding, including roads and power lines.
Each one of these charities has a top four-star rating for financial performance and effectiveness from Charity Navigator, my go-to charity rating service, and each one lets you donate online in any amount you choose, including regular monthly donations.
Every organization uses donations differently, so read their mission statement or visit their website to understand how your gifts to them will be used.
The crisis in Syria is especially urgent, since the earthquake was in the area which has been fighting against the murderous Assad regime for a decade, and where many ethnic Kurds fled across the border from Turkey to escape anti-Kurd ethnic terrorism and were living in refugee camps.
Resources in Syria were strained even before this devastating 7.8 earthquake. That’s why we are putting these four-star charities which have been on the ground in Syria for years at the top of our list –
ActionAid has been on the ground in Syria for almost thirty years alongside local partners, and with Syrian refugees in Turkey since 2011. Services include providing psychosocial support to children and equipping women with leadership skills in disaster preparedness.
MercyCorps is working with its Syrian staff and local partners working in Idlib and Northern Aleppo been distributing kits with blankets, jerry cans, solar lanterns, mattresses and other supplies in 98 displacement camps and 136 communities.
Oxfam is a European-based charity that assists victims of war and natural disasters around the world, including Syria.
Let’s not ignore the earthquake victims in Syria.
Two More Top Charities ecoXplorer recommends –
World Central Kitchen is mobilizing to serve at least 10,000 meals a day.
Celebrity chef Jose Andres founded World Central Kitchen in 2010 after the earthquake in Haiti, and has provided assistance around the world in response to emergencies – including currently in Ukraine, where World Central Kitchen has served more than 100 Million meals since Russia’s unprovoked invasion in Feb. 2022.
Doctors Without Borders provides medical care to the needy around the world, and is on the ground now in several war-torn countries, including Ukraine.
More Four-Star Charities
International Rescue Committee provides assistance in war-torn countries including Syria, Ethiopia and Yemen.
Save the Children is helping vulnerable children stay safe and providing relief to families who need it most.
Direct Relief provides life-saving emergency medical assistance.
UJA Federation NY is working with partners on the ground in Turkey and Syria, and promises that 100% of donations will be used for humanitarian relief.
American Red Cross is accepting donations online and via text while also looking for volunteers. Donations will be used to send supplies, open shelters and recruit volunteers.
Project HOPE is accepting money to fund teams on the ground to provide medical assistance.
Clean the World provides vital personal hygiene kits, including soap and sanitizer products.
Global Giving provides food, medicine and water to those affected by disasters. .
PayPal Giving Fund is a licensed charity and will provide the donation receipt for your gift to one of the charities on its approved list. PayPal covers all transaction costs for donations made on this site, ensuring that 100% of each gift made is available to charity. We verify that charities receiving grants from PayPal Giving Fund have tax-exempt status with the IRS and are not on recognized economic sanctions lists.
- Unfortunately, it takes PayPal up to 45 days to transfer the money, which doesn’t help anybody or group in desparate need today.
If you want to volunteer to help, these groups are requesting volunteers.
American Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/become-a-volunteer.html
Team Rubicon: https://teamrubiconusa.org/volunteer/
ToolBank USA: https://toolbank.org/get-engaged/#engage
ecoXplorer has published a list of top-rated charities including these multiple times over the years in response to earthquakes in Haiti and elsewhere, and hurricanes in Florida and the Caribbean.
Always beware of charity scams.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and author of guidebooks and smartphone apps – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.\
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter currently serves as President of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA) and is a former Board Member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW)
Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.
Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter
Here is more information from Racha Nasreddine, the head of ActionAid’s response in the region:
So far more than 5,000 people have been killed and more than 23,000 have been injured by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey. The situation for women, girls and marginalized communities in the aftermath of the earthquake is becoming increasingly alarming.
‘‘This is a shocking situation, after 12 years of conflict in Syria, women and girls internally displaced in Syria and living as refugees in Turkey were already in a very vulnerable situation before the earthquake and now they have had their homes and livelihoods destroyed.
“We know that women and girls often suffer the most during humanitarian emergencies. Violence against them increases and they are more at risk of being exploited. There’s very limited access to services like hospitals and so pregnant women are at risk of complications if they can’t receive the medical care they need. Those who are menstruating will also need to manage their periods without the right products and with very little privacy.
“We are urgently assessing the situation with our partner on the ground and working through our response plan. We know there is an urgent need for spaces women and girls can go to which are safe, as well as kits which have period products in, so we will be making sure these are addressed.”