I don’t normally do things like this, but my friend Ariel Ricker is
currently in the area where refugees are fleeing. She was first in
Turkey, helping out with refugees leaving and is currently in Greece,
helping when refugees arrive. She is working with others to put together
care packages–food, clothes, shoes, and other necessities. She’s told
me the refugees are no longer even allowed to bring one bag of
belongings, so they are literally arriving in Greece with nothing.
I’m
sure many of you have seen the photos of refugees who have not made it.
But for those who have reached the shore, there is still a lot that can
be done to help.
If you are in that region, this is the website
of an organization she’s working with where you can find out what
refugees need and where you can drop items off: Care Packages for Syrian Refugees.
My
friend is also personally going into stores, and buying food and
supplies, but her financial resources are not limitless. If you are in
the US and would still like to help her, you can go to her GoFundMe
page. The money donated there will help her with basic housing and
necessities so she can stay there as long as possible to help, and the
rest will go towards helping the refugees.
I know some folks like to donate through larger organizations, others prefer something more direct. I have seen the posts from my friend, the photos of what she's seen and who she's met, so I know she is there and doing the work.
If you have a few
dollars and have been looking for a way to help, I’ll hope you’ll
consider donating to my friend. If you can’t, please spread the word.
Related to this, she is also a journalist and writing articles on the situation:
