Your Red Cross Update

Fifth Graders Fundraise for Turkey-Syria Earthquake Relief

By Pooja Klebig

The students in Ms. Mary Horath’s 5^th grade class at Gateway School in Santa Cruz were moved to help when they heard about the 7.8 magnitude Turkey-Syria earthquake on February 6, 2023. The quake impacted an area nearly the size of Germany, affecting 14 million people and leaving 1.5 million homeless; nearly 60,000 people lost their lives.

“We were studying about the earthquake in our current events. That’s when we decided to help,” said student Rachel Fisher when asked what motivated the class to help.

The students held a school-wide walk-a-thon to raise money for disaster relief and response efforts. They went door-to-door to collect pledges, put up posters, and encouraged their classmates to participate. They even bought, sliced, and passed out orange slices to the walk-a-thon participants. All of their hard work paid off: They raised more than $15,000, which they were eager to donate to the American Red Cross.

Michele Averill, CEO of the Central Coast Chapter of the Red Cross, and Violet Nguyen, Regional Red Cross Philanthropy Officer, had the pleasure of accepting this generous gift through a check presentation at the school earlier this month.

“The joy in these kids’ hearts was simply overwhelming and inspiring,” said Michele. “Hearing their motivation of why they created the fundraiser and walk-a-thon filled my heart.”

The journey to recovery continues in Turkey and Syria for the millions affected by one of the biggest disasters to impact the region in years. Turkish Red Crescent and Syrian Arab Red Crescent workers continue to provide people with food, clean water and essential hygiene and relief supplies. As a response of this magnitude requires a team effort, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from around the world continue to provide aid, including the American Red Cross. Earlier this year, two U.S. disaster responders were deployed to the relief efforts, specializing in communications and information management; the organization continues to assess ongoing needs.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent will continue earthquake recovery efforts in the months and years to come thanks to volunteers and the generosity of donors just like the Gateway School students. We are very grateful for their hard work to raise vital funds to support these relief efforts by engaging our local community and making a difference worldwide.  These young humanitarians are an inspiration to us all. On behalf of those we serve, thank you Gateway School for your compassion and philanthropic spirit!