How You Can Help in the Aftermath of the Venezuela Earthquakes
On June 24 at around 6 p.m., the country of Venezuela was struck by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake along their coastal areas, followed 39 seconds later by a 7.5 magnitude tremor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), (ABC News). Primary damage was found in Caracas with ripples and tremors felt through the country and even in Colombia. These dual earthquakes were the biggest to hit Venezuela in a century, leading to immense destruction and death across the city of Caracas, which over 2 million people call home.
As of reports by Venezuela officials from yesterday, June 30, at least 1,943 people have died and another 10,571 people were injured. However, according to the USGS, the death toll could grow up to 10,000, as more casualties continue to be reported, and there was a point where 25,000 people were missing. The country was announced to be in an official state of emergency as countless buildings collapsed, power and water went out everywhere, people were losing everything up to their lives and gas was turned off to prevent fires.
The United States government deployed over 900 personnel to provide aid and relief to victims of these earthquakes, and Major League Baseball and the MLB Players' Association even donated a total of $1 million Tuesday to provide assistance to Venezuela. According to ESPN, “The money will be steered to the American Red Cross, helping the organization provide shelter, safe drinking water, healthcare, essential relief items and mental health services for a country with deep-rooted baseball influence.”
From a smaller perspective, communities all over the US are doing their part to help provide rescue and relief. Professional first responders as well as local Venezuelan restaurants in the areas in and around Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area are banding together to do their part for the cause by collecting donations and spreading awareness in their communities. This work provides them a means of feeling productive and helpful, even when they cannot be in their home country of Venezuela to provide help and comfort to their families and their people directly (NBC).
If you are looking to do you part, we have researched organizations and donation links that are helping other people help Venezuela. It is difficult to send direct donations of resources like food, clothing, water, medicine etc. right now because it is extremely difficult to get in and out of the country unless you are a first responder, but there are plenty of companies doing their part to move those donations along and here are a couple of examples. Feel free to also do your own research in your local communities to see who is offering to help with donations and support from a distance.
The We Love Foundation is one non-profit foundation we have heard good things about, which began as I Love Venezuela in 2013 before rebranding in order to accurately reflect their dedication to providing aid to a variety of countries and causes. There is a link to their website on their Instagram page that provides information on how they collect donations, throw fundraising events, recruit volunteers and more to give back to the communities that need them. There is a GoFundMe link on their page, as well, specifically for the earthquake relief that has already raised 6,274,334, which makes them 97% finished with reaching their 6.5 million dollar goal.
The other organization that is actively contributing a lot is Healing Venezuela. This charity was started in 2014 by Venezuelans who lived in the UK to send medical supplies to Venezuela when they were in the middle of a health crisis. By 2016, Healing Venezuela became a registered charity in England and Wales. They currently have four different donation links regarding earthquake aid in their Instagram bio including Just Giving, Global Giving, Enthuse and Benevity, all of which have the necessary tools to help you donate money on a one-off or even monthly basis.
