A couple that owns a business in downtown Chatham is collecting donations for earthquake-stricken Turkey and Syria.
Jarnail Singh Gahunia and his wife own T's & Sweats in the Downtown Chatham Centre.
Gahunia said for many years, the pair has been involved in working with local organizations that have collected and sent necessities across the globe following natural disasters including the 2011 tsunami in Japan, the earthquake in Nepal in 2015 and the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta.
According to CNN, nearly 44, 000 people have died across Turkey and neighbouring Syria following the 7.8 magnitude quake that hit on February 6.
According to Gahunia, they have already gathered over $11,000 worth of winter clothing donations at their store and have been in touch with the Turkish Consulate to stay up to date on what the current needs are for donations in the two countries.
"At this point, the latest information we have is that they are not accepting any more clothing or food items," he said. "Now, they are only looking for blankets, sleeping bags and Arctic tents."
Officials in charge of collecting and disturbing the donations are requesting that the blankets, sleeping bags and tents are new.
Residents can drop off donations at T's & Sweats in the mall until 5 p.m. Friday and between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday.
Following the collection period, Gahunia will deliver the items to a Turkish Consulate warehouse in the Greater Toronto Area
"We will be loading whatever we have, then I will take it to the warehouse in North York that's designated by the Turkish Consulate General," he explained. "From there, a Turkish Airlines truck will pick up the items, take them to the airport, load them into the containers and put them on the plane."
Gahunia said he will be updated by officials at the ground level in Turkey in Syria regarding what any future needs may be for citizens in the country as they recover from the earthquake.