Winter clothes and toys charity drive

Dear Friends

One of the latest events organized by Syracuse Turkish Cultural Center (TCC) and their American friends who are attending breakfast meetings is the "winter clothes and toys" charity drive where more than 400 pieces of clothes and toys were donated for refugees.

Pooling the efforts of the Turkish cultural center members in Syracuse, more than 3 dozens of bags filled with coats, hats, scarves, gloves, baby clothes and toys were collected and distributed by members of TCC.

 "This idea came to our minds when we were having Turkish breakfast meeting with our American neighbors. It's gone very well, with a lot of support from our American friends." said Ayna Yagmurova who organized this event. "I think a lot of people, when they heard about it through the TCC just opened up and donated stuff, because they know times are tough for refugees. Some people donated clothes, some donated toys, some people donated their times and some donated their cars to be used to collect the items. It was really inspiring to see how my neighbors, my friends wanted to help. I am very thankful to live in such a nice community"

TCC members arrived West Side Learning Center (WSLC-422 Gifford St, Syracuse, NY) in the morning to set up tables for the items. They also presented TCC activities and events to the students and teachers of the WSLC. Students and teachers at WCLS had participated the presentation with great attention. TCC members also cooked fresh pastries, brought fruits and drinks to be served during the presentation. Mr.Sula, who is also a student at WSLC, said " I have been noticing a refugee friend who comes to classes with very old clothes and she did not have a coat. I was feeling guilty to wear my coat next to her. I saw her getting lots of items during this event. These refugees need more winter items. Thank you for organizing this event and I hope we can help more."

"We were not expecting this much of items. This is the biggest donation ever happened at WSLC. We were able to reach more then 100 people. Thank you for organizing this event." Said Miss. Elise who teaches English as a second language at WSLC. 

Refugee families thanked to event organizers after presentation, and mentioned about their needs.  TCC members said, they plan to organize more events to reach more people who are in need and they are thankful for all people who donated items for this event and people who care about the others.