In the News/Press Releases
For Immediate Release
February 14, 2023
Aid to Earthquake Devastated Türkiye
The Aziz and Gwen Sancar Foundation (AGSF) a non-governmental organization headquartered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina has announced its participation in a major fund-raising effort to convey aid to the many in need following devastating earthquakes in southeastern Anatolia. The morning of February 6 saw two enormous seismic events bring death and destruction to a vast area near the Turkish – Syrian border. A temblor registering 7.8 on the Richter scale was followed nine hours later by one of 7.5 magnitude. As of Thursday afternoon, thousands of buildings in southeastern Turkish cities had collapsed and the death toll on both sides of the border stood at more than 40,000 people and raising by the hour as rescue workers reach the rubbles. Thousands of seriously injured individuals have been pulled from the rubble. The earthquake was said to be one of the strongest ever recorded in Türkiye.
AGSF established in 2007 to further understanding of Türkiye and the Turkic peoples, has its offices at the Sancar Turkish Cultural and Community Center (STCCC). The Center also is the home base of the Bridge to Turkiye Fund (BTF), a charity that has mounted a major earthquake relief fund to which AGSF supporters are encouraged to contribute. BTF has been in existence for almost twenty-five years and is dedicated to bettering the lives of impoverished children and young adults throughout the country of Türkiye. To respond to this great tragedy individuals and organizations wishing to support earthquake relief efforts can do so by going to https://secure.givelively.org/donate/bridge-to-turkiye/kahramanmaras-earthquake-relief-fund or by contacting one of the individuals below.
İsmail Arslan
Chairman of the Board of Directors
iarslan@sancar.org
Gwen Sancar
Co-Founder and Director of Center Operations
gsancar@sancar.org
For further information go to https://sancar.org/
Jordan M. Scepanski
Secretary and Member of the AGSF Board of Directors
jscepanski@sancar.org
919-428-1228
