Have A Franciscan Heart
Help Us Help the people OF SYRIA and TURKEY
Photo Credit:VOA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Children are freezing and hungry. Families are huddled in overcrowded emergency shelters that are dangerously low on supplies and basic, life-sustaining necessities. In the aftermath of one of the most cataclysmic earthquakes in history, we are witnessing a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions in Turkey and Syria. Children, families, women, men, the elderly, the sick and disabled, and the able-bodied are faced with unimaginable suffering. With each passing day, this humanitarian crisis becomes more dire. The numbers are staggering – tens of thousands left homeless, without food and water, and without warm clothing, medicine, and other supplies. Their homes and all of their belongings have been reduced to mountains of rubble. In regions that absorbed among the worst devastation, Franciscan Friars in Turkey and Syria are on the front lines answering the piercing cries for help by mothers desperate to keep their children warm and fed, and by the elderly in need of medication. In one small neighborhood of Aleppo, the city in Syria about 30 miles from the Turkish border, an unfathomable 4,000 people a day are turning to the Franciscan Friars for food and water and winter clothing. There are tens of thousands more like them throughout the earthquake-stricken regions of Turkey and Syria who the Franciscans are trying to help with food, water and other supplies. But like the emergency makeshift housing encampments that have been set up in malls and stadiums, resources are scarce.
The Franciscan Friars on the ground need us to help them so they can help the frightened, shell-shocked, cold and hungry people of Turkey and Syria who lost everything in the earthquake.
Please, have a Franciscan Heart and give generously, and with gratitude, to The Franciscan Relief Fund. Your donation will be a lifeline for the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria – the difference between children starving or having food on the table, and the sick going without life-saving medicine or getting the medicine they need. 100% of EVERY DOLLAR that you donate will go toward this effort. So far, in a very short time, we have raised over $100,000. But the people in Turkey and Syria need so much more from us – from you and your generous Franciscan Heart.
HELP US HELP THEM
THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS NEED YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT
The Franciscan Friars are beggars. But we never beg for ourselves. We beg for others. And now, we are begging for the tens of thousands of children, families, the elderly – everyone in Turkey and Syria suffering in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake. 100% of EVERY DOLLAR that you donate to The Franciscan Relief Fund will be used to purchase food and bottled water, winter clothing and blankets, medicine and medical supplies, toiletries, and other life-sustaining necessities for the thousands who seek assistance from the Franciscan Friars in Turkey and Syria on a daily basis. The Franciscan Friars 5,600 miles away need our help, so that they can help the desperate people of Turkey and Syria. Your generosity will let the survivors caught in this path of unimaginable destruction know that they are not alone and that they are not forgotten in this time of overwhelming crisis. Every two weeks, the Franciscan Relief Fund will send 100% of EVERY DOLLAR of every donation to the Friars overseas for the purchase of desperately needed life-sustaining necessities and supplies.
AS OF TODAY, WE HAVE RAISED...
What is the Franciscan Relief Fund?
The Franciscan Relief Fund was established by the Franciscan Friars in 2020 to provide food and other assistance to people during times of natural disaster, disease, war, poverty and unemployment. Our first initiative was during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when The Franciscan Relief Fund provided food assistance to 5,598 laid-off workers, many of them undocumented, in the hospitality, service and entertainment industries who were not eligible for government assistance. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, The Franciscan Relief Fund has raised more than $945,000 in humanitarian aid for thousands of refugees and homeless Ukrainians who turned to the Franciscan Friars in Ukraine and Poland for help. Our devoted supporters donate with full confidence in knowing that EVERY DOLLAR goes directly to helping the people in Turkey and Syria. All donations made to The Franciscan Relief Fund are 100% tax-deductible.
LIGHT A CANDLE FOR UKRAINE
Join the Franciscan Friars as we pray for the Ukrainian people, especially the innocent, the frightened and those who have lost loved ones, homes, and family. We ask you to hold all people of Ukraine deep in your heart during this time. There is no charge for lighting a virtual candle, and you can also submit a personal intention. We invite you to also look at messages left by others and hold their dedications in your heart. You can further support the people of Ukraine during this wartime crisis who are now hungry, homeless and without medicine by supporting The Franciscan Relief Fund.
LIGHT A CANDLE FOR UKRAINE
Join the Franciscan Friars as we pray for the Ukrainian people, especially the innocent, the frightened and those who have lost loved ones, homes, and family. We ask you to hold all people of Ukraine deep in your heart during this time. There is no charge for lighting a virtual candle, and you can also submit a personal intention. We invite you to also look at messages left by others and hold their dedications in your heart. You can further support the people of Ukraine during this wartime crisis who are now hungry, homeless and without medicine by supporting The Franciscan Relief Fund.
WHO ARE THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS?
WHO ARE THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS?
The Franciscan Friars of the U.S. are rooted in the Catholic tradition and follow the principles of our founding father, St. Francis of Assisi. We achieve this by collaborating with those whom we serve and by standing in solidarity with all people, especially the alienated, the immigrant, the newly-arrived migrant, the marginalized, the homeless, and the poor. At its most basic, this means providing food and shelter for those in need. In short, Franciscan Friars provide the crucial services that empower people to live their lives with dignity and purpose, free from poverty.
WHO ARE THE FRANCISCANS FRIARS?
The Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province are rooted in the Catholic tradition and follow the principles of our founding father St. Francis of Assisi. We achieve this by collaborating with those whom we serve and by standing in solidarity with all people, especially the alienated, the immigrant, and the poor. At its most basic, this means providing food and shelter for those in need. In short, we provide the crucial services that empower people to live their lives with dignity and purpose, free from poverty.
