For a few hours on Sunday afternoon, a steady stream of vehicles lined up outside the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine, waiting to drop off coats, blankets and other donations for the victims of the calamitous earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria last week.
Trash bags filled with supplies, bursting at the seams, were wheeled into the donation site on carts. Volunteers whipped open the backs of box trucks to find piles and piles of donations.
Twin sisters Malika and Zarah Mansuri, 16, laugh as they struggle to carry a large box of donated items during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Volunteers roll bags of coats to the collection center during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Rayna Johal, 8, shows the letter that she wrote to a earthquake victim. The letter will be placed in a pocket of a donated coat during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center
in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A truck full of donated items prepares to drop off the items during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Members of the Orange County Fire Authority and other volunteers help sort donations during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A woman drops off a bag of jackets and blankets during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
OCFA paramedic David Sewell, right, hands a bag of donated items to Mariam Saada, an executive assistant to the mayor of Irvine, to load into the Team Kids bus during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Team Kids has children write letters, that are translated to Turkish, to the children of Turkey then the letter is put inside the pocket of a donated coat during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A volunteer carries bags of donated items to the pile during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center
in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Piles of donated items are place along the sidewalk to be loaded into trucks during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center
in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Gagan Johal, left, and OCFA paramedic Jeffery Blake carry boxes of donated items during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center
in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Robin Fry of the Rotary Club Tustin and Santa Ana examines a donated coat with a fur collar during a coat and blanket drive for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria at the Lakeview Senior Center in Irvine on Sunday, February 12, 2023. The event was sponsored by the City of Irivne, the Rotary Club of Irvine and Team Kids. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
People gave enough during the donation drive on Sunday, Feb. 12, to fill an estimated 3,400 boxes, which will be sent to those impacted by the earthquake.
Approximately 150 volunteers came together, said René Williams of Rotary District 5320 in Southern California, to assist with the donation event, organized by the Rotary Club of Irvine, the city of Irvine and nonprofits Sabil USA and Zakat Foundation of America.
Another organizer was Team Kids, a youth organization that had children write letters, translated into Turkish, that will be placed in the pockets of coats. The Orange County Fire Authority also assisted with the unloading of donated goods on Sunday.
The Tustin-based Sabil is handling the boxing and transporting, while Turkish Airlines will deliver the supplies, according to a news release.
For those who missed the Sunday drive but still want to help, the organizations are collecting new blankets, tents and sleeping bags. These items will be accepted at Sabil’s office at 14712 Bentley Circle, Unit B, in Tustin until noon on Thursday, Feb. 16.
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