SimplyFresh launches fundraiser for Turkey earthquake after being overwhelmed by donations
Roman Road’s Turkish-run food store launches a fundraiser after pausing its collection drive following an inundation of donations in the first 24-hours.
Following Monday’s news of two huge earthquakes and a series of aftershocks hitting Turkey and Syria, SimplyFresh supermarket launched an urgent appeal for donations to be sent to help people in the affected areas.
Announcing the appeal on Tuesday, donations of clothes, blankets, sanitary products and baby formula quickly began piling up outside of SimplyFresh in Globe Town, and five van loads were taken to a distribution centre to be sent to Turkey on Wednesday morning.
Overwhelmed by donations in the first 24-hours, SimplyFresh has paused collections and launched a fundraiser for Islamic Relief charity which is providing emergency medicine, food and shelter to earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria.
In a video posted on Instagram on Wednesday, owner Mehmmet Güzel said: ‘We have to pause collecting for today as the shop is bursting with your bags of kindness. We are going to box them up and van them over to the distribution centre.
‘Your generosity has been overwhelming, thank you from all of us at SimplyFresh and the wider Güzel family for all your donations.’
So far, the Güzels have raised £214 of their £1,000 target and are encouraging those who can afford it to give what they can on SimplyFresh’s Instagram page. They will inform local people via social media when they can start receiving donations again.
Güzel’s family has been trading on Roman Road since 2002. Originally, the family ran the popular Turkish convenience store, Can Supermarket, located just two doors down from where SimplyFresh stands today.
The UK Government announced today that it will match the first £5m of donations from the public to the Turkey-Syria earthquake.
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