On February 6, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeast Turkey near the Syrian border. After the first quake, aftershocks numbering in the thousands rumbled across the region.  Close to 18 million people in Turkey and Syria have been impacted by the disaster, with over 55,000 dead and nearly 130,000 injured. Millions have been displaced from their homes, with over 10 million in need of urgent aid.

We would like the HAWK family to all pull together and raise funds to support all of these people in need.  It should be noted that 100% of the money raised by our HAWK family will go to support those who are in need in Turkey and Syria.  If you choose to donate, we ask that you designate the year you are in school or the department you teach in. 

Here are some additional facts regarding this devastating earthquake:

• After the first quake, aftershocks numbering in the thousands rumbled across the region, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
• In Syria, 3.7 million children face a deepening crisis, with the earthquake exacerbating the effects of the ongoing war.
• In Turkey, 2.5 million children — many of them Syrian refugees — are at increased risk of poverty, child labor, or child marriage in the aftermath of the disaster.
• Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, some 3.6 million Syrians, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency.
• According to Turkey’s Ministry of Interior, 2.6 million people are living in tent cities, while 1.6 million are living in informal sites or alongside their damaged homes — the majority of them in unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
• Catastrophic damage to agricultural infrastructure in 11 provinces in Turkey is disrupting basic food production and livelihoods for rural people.