When twin earthquakes devastated Gaziantep, it stirred painful memories for Alper Dağlıoğlu, a New Yorker who had lived through the 1999 Marmara quake while in Istanbul. That night, Alper had fled from his home at 3 a.m., the walls around him shaking, threatening to come crashing down. He spent a sleepless night outside with his neighbors—a brief experience compared to the extended nightmare faced by the 14 million in southern Türkiye during the recent quakes.
As he witnessed the devastation thousands of miles away in New York City, he was compelled to do something. Feeling not very confident in his fundraising skills, Alper and his wife Asli set up an online fundraiser page at TPF and began sharing the cause with family, friends, and colleagues. It snowballed from there. Their effort blossomed into a community-wide movement, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for TPF’s Earthquake Fund through relentless outreach via emails, social media, and office fundraising events. This impact was further magnified through corporate matching gifts and giving opportunities, effectively doubling their collective contribution.
“We could’ve never imagined this amount of kindness and support when we started this fundraiser. Asli and I may be the leader on paper, but this fundraiser is beyond us. We are thankful to all our friends and colleagues for their generosity,” Alper said.
Alper is fascinated by how people from all walks of life came together, bound by compassion and a shared resolve to make a difference. People’s passion and empathy instilled hope in Alper for the recovery that lay ahead.
Alper’s story is a great reminder that when we come together in empathy and solidarity, we can surmount even the most insurmountable challenges.