It’s Not too Late to Help Charities Support the Refugee Crisis

In the month since the tragic image of 3-year-old Alan Kurdi’s body, washed up on a Turkish beach after his liferaft sank, brought greater awareness – and action – to the refugee crisis in Syria and other parts of the world, we’ve seen a steady influx of stories and images reinforcing the severity of the situation.

That’s why we launched our Refugee Crisis Help Campaign on September 11, to help you — our generous donors — take action.

We carefully chose four charities — and split all donations equally between the four. And thanks to a generous sponsor, Vancouver BMW Ducati, we’ve been able to double every donation up to $100.

To date, you’ve raised more than $15,000 to help the refugee crisis

Congratulations! Here’s a look at how your donations are making a difference.

Doctors Without Borders

• Have rescued more than 16,113 people in distress at sea since May 2, 2015
• Are currently operating two search-and-rescue vessels – the Dignity I and Bourbon Argo
• Are equipping expert medical and emergency teams to provide urgent care and emergency relief supplies for those rescued at sea
• Are providing medical support for people arriving by boat at Pozzallo, Sicily, as well as psychological first aid at landing ports, and mental health care support in asylum centres in the Ragusa region, Sicily
• Are running projects to support migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in Greece and Serbia: providing medical care, distributing relief items, and helping to provide rehabilitation for victims of torture
• Are providing essential care in countries affected by conflict and humanitarian crises, including Syria, Turkey, Ethiopia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Learn more

CARE

• Has reached over one million people affected by the crisis in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Yemen, and inside Syria
• Has provided life-saving services to more than 290,000 Syrian refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt
• Is providing emergency cash assistance for Syrian refugees in Jordan so they can pay for basic living costs, including rent, medication and food
• Is assisting with vital information on how refugees can access further health, legal and social support, and providing psychosocial assistance to women, men and children
• Is repairing water and sanitation infrastructure, providing health education sessions, working with municipalities to improve water supply and sanitation infrastructure for refugees in Lebanon
• Is helping refugee families living in Jordan and Lebanon to prepare for and cope with the cold winter: distributing cash, heaters, fuel vouchers, blankets and floor mats
• Is raising awareness among the refugees in Egypt of sexual exploitation and other forms of gender-based violence to protect them from abuse in a vulnerable situation.

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Save the Children

• Is reaching over 530,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, including 313,000 children, with critical protection, education, food and shelter assistance
• Providing essential supplies to refugee families:
• $15 can provide 1,000 gallons of drinking water for a family fleeing their home
• $35 can provide a refugee child with nutritious meals for a week, including milk and bread
• $60 can provide two refugee families with diapers, wipes and supplies to keep children clean and healthy
• $120 can provide a family with a shelter kit, including sleeping bags, tents and flashlights
• Is helping children who arrive in southern Italy from across the Mediterranean Sea by providing spaces that are safe to play in and socialize – letting children release stress and talk about their experience with trained emergency staff
• Is providing support services to child refugees at railway stations in Rome and Milan, and offering care and guidance for children at government processing sites
• Is providing child protection interventions for large numbers of Libyan refugees arriving in Egypt: child-friendly spaces, psychosocial and emotional support, health promotion, school kits and classes.

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Canadian Red Cross

• Is sending seven Canadian Red Cross aid workers to provide logistical and technical support to the German Red Cross as the country accepts an influx of refugees
• Is shipping 10,000 cots and 10,000 blankets from Canada to the German Red Cross to assist in providing temporary shelter to refugees
• Is supporting the “Restore Family Links” project in Italy and Serbia, which helps refugees reconnect with family members via phone and internet
• Is providing food, household items and life-saving health services to internally displaced families in Syria, Iraq, Libya and throughout the region.
• Is also supporting Red Cross emergency operations in Greece, Serbia, Macedonia and Italy:
• $124 can feed a family who have fled from conflict for two months
• $207 can provide a vulnerable community with 80 jerry cans to transport and store vital fresh water
• $690 can provide temporary shelter for 40 families displaced by conflict

Learn more

It’s not too late to help! About $5,000 in matching money remains in our campaign, meaning your donation (up to $100) to these four charities will be doubled.

Give Now

Photo: By SZERVÁC Attila (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons