Turkish-American groups in Colorado collecting donations for victims of earthquake

With unfathomable devastation a world away, relief efforts are just beginning, and in Denver, Leyla Mametova is doing everything she can.

On Friday, she was among several volunteers helping the Turkish American Cultural Society of Colorado. While simply organizing and taking inventory of donations, she called it among the most rewarding things she's ever done.

"It has been a real mental toll seeing everything going on back home," Mametova said. "Even if I don't have anything to give, I do have something to give which is my labor and time."  

For four days now, Mametova and other Turkish-Americans have been collecting donations for victims of the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. More than 22,000 people have been confirmed dead and millions more are homeless.

Each box of donated clothing, sleeping bags, medical supplies and more will soon head to Los Angeles, where a Turkish Airlines jet will fly it to Istanbul. From there, the donations will be brought to the affected region, organizers said.

"We do not have time to mourn right now, we have to help those people," said Tuba Firincioglu, past president and current member of TACSCO.

According to Firincioglu, Denver is one of many American cities taking part in this effort coordinated by the Turkish Embassy. So far, volunteers in Denver have collected so many donations they found an additional warehouse for storage.

"It's incredible," Firincioglu said. "I'm once again just so proud to be part of this country. I'm really proud to be an American."

For now, the priority is cold weather gear and medical supplies, but everything donated will get shipped out. While proud, Mametova knows the need overseas is immeasurable, and work is far from done.

"All of us are making some type of an impact and I'm really insanely proud of the work that we have done so far," she said. Even if it's one person that we're able to help out through this entire process, I think that's well worth the struggle."

The first shipment of donations will leave town for Los Angeles on Saturday and be en route to Turkey shortly after that. The group plans to ship donations again on Feb. 14.

You can find a full list of items TACSCO will be collecting on the organization's Facebook page.

TACSCO is collecting donations under the Turkish Philanthropy Funds, a U.S.-based non-profit organization. Donations can be made here: https://donate.tpfund.org/team/480036