Two Hampton Roads organizations are mobilizing their disaster relief teams to Turkey and Syria following a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
Mercy Chefs is a Portsmouth-based organization that provides nutrient-rich meals to victims, volunteers, and first responders following humanitarian crises.
Members of the organization's culinary team flew to Turkey on Wednesday morning with plans to provide victims and first responders with coats, blankets, and food.
"What we're hearing right now in the aftermath is they need shelter, they need clothing, they need water, they need food, and they need hope and comfort," said Gary LeBlanc, Mercy Chefs' lead chef and CEO. "We've already started moving commodities and supplies into the affected area. Our team is going to be finding out what the greatest need is."
Mercy Chefs' food truck will be serving hot meals on the Turkish side of the Syrian border starting as early as tomorrow, before setting up larger field kitchens in the coming weeks.
LeBlanc says Mercy Chefs had already been in that area helping Syrian refugees and even lost some of their international partners to the earthquake.
"One of the couples that were operating an outpost along the border, their house collapsed, they were both killed, and their 10-year-old son was able to crawl out of the wreckage. So it is hitting close to home," he said. "These are people that are known to us. It's just, it's very tragic. And you have to multiply that by tens of thousands of stories."
Also headed across the pond to provide disaster relief is Operation Blessing, which is headquartered in Virginia Beach.
Operation Blessing's International Disaster Relief team is distributing emergency supplies, like portable solar lanterns, as much of the area is without power.
Both organizations rely on donations to make an impact overseas. You can donate to Operation Blessing here and Mercy Chefs here.
