A number of donation points have opened across the isle in a bid to collect aid packages for those affected by the major earthquake in south-eastern Turkey in the early hours of Monday morning.
More than 16,000 people have been killed in Syria and Turkey due to the disaster near the Syrian border, The 7.8, magnitude quake was closely followed by numerous aftershocks.
In Thanet donations of aid packages, ideally boxes of single items such as nappies, baby food, canned food, new warm clothes, tents, blankets, clearly labelled to simplify distribution, can be dropped off at:
Lounge 27 at 2 York Street, Ramsgate and 78 High Street Margate
Cardak Meze Grill, 117 High St, Broadstairs CT10 1NQ (open from noon)
The Charles Dickens Broadstairs
The Queen’s Head Ramsgate
Aspendos, Cecil Square, Margate
Al-Birr Community Centre and Mosque, Union Crescent, Margate
Dumpton Nissan Garage, Ramsgate Road, open 8.30am-6pm, donation cut-ff Saturday (February 11)
Or donate to the official British Red Cross or Disaster Emergency Committee appeals
Appalling catastrophe in the Kurdish areas of Turkey and Syria. Great that local restaurants and shops volunteering to be collection points but we have been told it costs more to send the donations to Turkey or Syria than they are actually worth. Donations are best channelled through the DEC, of which the lead organisation is the Red Cross. They will send it via the local Red Crescent volunteers who are already on the ground there. If anyone has any different information, I would be very grateful to hear.
The appeals (locally) say donations are being taken to Turkey free of charge
Thanks Kathy. The Red Cross keep stressing that cash is by far the best way of helping. Buying stuff close to the disaster zone is better for a number of reasons. Help will be needed for years to come. Thanet now has a Kurdish community. Perhaps some form of link to assist could be created?
I was concerned that only Turkiye was receiving aid, but the UNHCR are taking donations for both Turkiye and Syria over the phone on: 0800 029 3883
PS. Or UNICEF for children on 0300 034 9992
I am glad there are donation points, as I have stuff I can give, but am a bit short of finance.
Give whatever cash you can. That’s the advice of the charity agencies
Donations of clothes, blankets and so on take time and money to sort out and distribute
Charities will say donate money. They have huge overheads and CEOs on huge salaries.
Help in any way you can. Don’t let others guilt you into helping one way or another. That’s one of the issues with modern society someone will always say the way you help is the wrong way.
No one here has said that any route is the wrong way.
Aid charities ask that cash donations are made, because the money given is almost instantly available at the front line.
If you can’t give money, then do give things like warm clothing, blankets and so on, but be aware that it will be days before those things reach Turkey, and even longer before they reach the poor souls who need them.
The Red Cross spends 11% on overheads. For every £10 you donate, just about £9 goes to help those in need.
If you give £0.00, then those desperate people get nothing.
Why oh why are you quarrelling , if you have spare cash donate spare cash, if you haven’t but have spare items that could help donate those, it’s that simple