Earth Day 2023 | WCK supports communities impacted by climate crises

 

On the frontlines of climate change As we mark Earth Day today, WCK remains steadfastly committed to supporting communities across the world who find themselves on the frontlines of climate change. Our teams are witnessing first hand the compounding effects of a changing climate—hurricanes earlier in the year with increased intensity, wildfires as a year-round threat, increased risk of flooding. Climate change is resulting in more climate disasters that often impact the most vulnerable populations on Earth. Since 2016, WCK teams have responded to dozens of climate-related disasters. Learn more about these efforts here. To better serve communities in need, WCK is further investing in our disaster preparedness infrastructure. We have bolstered our Relief Team and structured it to include regional teams, ensuring we can respond even faster and more efficiently to a disaster anywhere in the world. SUPPORT OUR CLIMATE-RELATED EFFORTS Learn how WCK was able to lead our first emergency response in Syria after deadly earthquakes In the 10 weeks since February’s devastating earthquakes, WCK has served millions of meals at more than 850 distribution sites across Türkiye and Syria. Our Relief Team first delivered meals to communities in Syria within days of the earthquakes and faced a series of challenges new to WCK, none bigger than this being our first response to a natural disaster in a conflict zone. In order to scale operations in the country, we partnered with local restaurants and organizations and have since served millions of nourishing meals to families impacted by the disaster. Sam, WCK’s Director of Emergency Response, was among the first team members to arrive in Syria to establish our operations. As our response to the earthquakes begins to wind down and operations are transitioned to local organizations, we sat down with Sam to learn more about his experience working in Syria. Read our conversation here. Support our efforts in Syria and Türkiye by donating here. Learn more about our response here. WCK teams spread joy during difficult Easter Families throughout Ukraine marked Easter, one of the most important holidays in the country, under attack by Russian forces for a second year. To help spread some joy, WCK teams distributed paska, traditional cakes enjoyed during Easter that represent love and unity, along with our usual meal kits. The significance of the moment was not lost on our team in Kramatorsk who delivered these colorful cakes to families in Sloviansk just one day after the city was hit by rockets. Our team in Kharkiv faced the added challenge of heavy rains that washed out roads, some of which were not accessible with normal vehicles. To ensure meals kits and cakes reached communities in this part of Ukraine, we worked with local farmers that were able to traverse the damaged roads. Support our #ChefsForUkraine efforts by donating here. Learn more about our response here. As we recently saw in Sloviansk, families throughout the Donetsk region continue to live under constant threat of attack. Life in this southeastern part of Ukraine remains very challenging. Many residents lack access to gas, electricity, or water. Watch the video below to see how WCK teams are providing hot meals, food kits, and places to stay warm for families in need.  WCK's Relief Team supports communities in four southern US states hit by deadly tornado outbreaks Over the course of two weeks beginning in late March, WCK teams were on the ground across Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee supporting communities impacted by two deadly tornado outbreaks. In response to these storms, WCK worked shoulder to shoulder with impacted communities to provide more than 17,500 hot meals and sandwiches, as well as fresh fruit and water throughout the region. Read more about our efforts here.  Learn more about our tornado response here.

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