Urgent Essentials 4 Syrian Refugees

Oct 22: Latest update from the people on the ground in the refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece.

"People, this is a massive emergency call for help. The situation in the Moria Refugee Camp in Lesbos Greece is utterly catastrophic.

"We need organisations to come there. The queue for registering is 2 km long, many people do not have tents, there is no shelter.

"There is a handful of us volunteers in Moria, there are no organisations except for once a day food distribution which is nowhere near enough for everyone.

"I've had people holding half dead babies up to me the whole day and we have nowhere to send them.

"All the NGO's are inside and doctors only very rarely come out. Tomorrow will be a disaster: there are no dry clothes for anyone, no shelter, there are children sleeping in bin bags, no food, no blankets, no diapers for babies.

"No access to drinking water for the people in the back of the line, people will go to sleep wet and cold tonight in the open air, half the people will wake up sick, some people will die I am sure of it.

"We urgently need medics on the ground, some form of sheltering and dry clothes. Please please help, we are just a few volunteers by ourselves without resources but people are looking at us to help but we can do nothing. Many thanks."

From Jamie Grumet of Raise It Up Foundation:

"Hey you guys, we're in a situation where the Moria camp in Lesvos for refugees (categorized as illegal immigrants) are in extremely dire states. There is a lack of all large organization presence there and people are dying.

"We are doing everything thing we can to try to alert organizations in the field about this situation, but I think this crisis is so large that even the big organizations are having trouble keeping up with the demands.

"We want to get this money over to our in-field volunteers immediately. We have come up with an organization strategy and they can purchase emergency supplies that will keep people alive on location thanks to local stores.

"We are still headed to Lesvos in early November, but the situation is dire NOW and we need to get this money to them before our arrival. Please help. Every dollar of this campaign is going to the people mentioned below in the above statement shared by a local volunteer.

What We’re Doing:

We're headed to Lesvos, Greece on November 8th to aid in the worst refugee crisis since World War II. We strongly believe this is a global crisis and we all need to do our part to help those caught in such an unimaginable situation. 


1. Our first goal is to use this GoFundMe money to buy and ship desperately needed emergency supplies.

We are working with volunteers on the ground who have stated repeatedly that there is a lack of essential items including:

- waterproof pants 
- warm clothing
- foil blankets
- water ponchos
- fleece blankets
- socks
- shoes
- towels

 2. We will NOT be using any GoFundMe money for our second goal.

We are traveling (with our individual, private funds) to the Kara Tepe and Moria camps in order to bring back real stories of the people who are currently caught in the refugee crisis.

We will be sharing these stories and publishing in media hubs like The Huffington Post, “O” Magazine and other online and written publications in order to garner more supplies and support in the future.

(Again: None of the GoFundMe money will go toward our travel expenses.)

What’s Happening on the Ground in Greece:

Every day, close to 2,000 Syrian refugees arrive at the Kara Tepe and Moria transit camps in Lesvos, Greece (and almost 70K refugees have arrived in Greece just this year).

They arrive on tiny rafts after surviving a life-threatening ride across the Aegean Sea from violence and war.

Many men, women and children arrive soaking wet from rough waters - suffering from hypothermia, malnutrition and shock. Most of these refugees arrive with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

 Who We Are:

Shannon Colleary, a Los Angeles based writer/journalist.

Jamie Grumet, a Los Angeles based human rights activist and non-profit president of the Raise It Up Foundation. 

Lori Dorman, a Los Angeles based photographer.

Jade Beall, a Los Angeles based photographer.

Wayne Martin Belger, a Los Angeles based photographer and artist.

Ameer Hassan , an international Arabic translator and aid worker.

Please Donate Now:

We need to meet our goal by November 1st, but these items will be shipped and used as soon as we meet this goal and are desperately needed as I type this.  And please don't worry about the amount you are able to give.  A small donation is all it takes to meet our goal in this collective humans for humans project.

You can follow your item's journey on Facebook.com/RaiseItUp

Please don't hesitate to email us for additional information or to ask any question!