Door County Candle fundraiser helps earthquake relief for Turkish, Syrian children
STURGEON BAY - With parts of Turkey and Syria devastated by the huge earthquake that struck Feb. 6 and rescue efforts expected to continue for a long time, Door County Candle Co. is holding a special candle fundraising sale to help those efforts.
The local candle making business issued a new Hope Candle on Feb. 10. All profits from sales of the cream-colored, vanilla-scented candle will go to UNICEF, which provides humanitarian and developmental aid, relief and support to children in more than 190 countries around the world.
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than $2,000 had been raised by Hope Candle sales. Company owner Christiana Gorchynsky Trapani said she hasn't set an end date for the Turkey-Syria fundraiser, but she hopes the candles raise at least $10,000.
The devastation was caused by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit southeastern Turkey near its border with Syria, followed shortly by a stream of aftershocks that included a 7.5-magnitude quake about 70 miles to the north of the first one. The 7.8 earthquake was the strongest in Turkey since 1939 and the second-strongest in that country only to one in 1668 that's estimated to have been as strong as an 8.0.
More than 41,000 people have died as of Wednesday, and rescue and humanitarian aid work are ongoing. UNICEF's website says about 4.6 million children were living in the 10 Turkish provinces affected by the quake, along with 2.5 million in areas affected in Syria, and it believes hundreds of thousands of children are urgently in need of aid.
Besides safe water, food, medicine and health care, UNICEF said shelter and clothing are needed, especially because of the harsh winter conditions in the area and the massive damage to homes and buildings. It said reports of the number of children experiencing hypothermia and respiratory illnesses are rising daily.
The Hope Candle sale is another of a string of fundraisers for relief efforts by Door County Candle. The company made national headlines almost a year ago when it began making and selling Ukraine Candles within days after Russia invaded that country − Trapani is a second-generation Ukrainian-American − and that effort, which is ongoing, has raised more than $868,000 for emergency relief help in Ukraine.
Trapani said after buying the business in 2021 with her husband, Nic, she became interested in using its candles for bigger fundraising efforts.
"I always liked the idea that we could help, that we could have our candles raise money. I love that our candles are so much more than just a candle," she told the Advocate in October, when the company launched a Beachside candle to raise funds to help people on the Gulf Coast of Florida affected by Hurricane Ian.
About a month later, the company began selling Tin Candles for Ukraine, which people bought to have shipped to that war-ravaged country as a source of light and perhaps heat.
The 16-ounce Hope Candle for UNICEF earthquake relief efforts in Turkey and Syria costs $29.95. To order or for more information, visit the Door County Candle store, 5789 State 42, Sturgeon Bay; call 920-746-2125; or visit doorcountycandle.com or the "Door County Candle Company" Facebook page.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County Candle fundraiser aids earthquake relief for Turkey, Syria
