A team which includes Casey Neistat has started a GoFundMe to raise money for the humanitarian crisis in Somalia.
Some of the world’s top influencers have teamed up with Turkish Airlines and actor Ben Stiller to raise money for fight against a famine that has devastated Somalia in recent times, with roughly half of the country’s population unable to access food due to a severe drought.
A GoFundMe campaign named “Love Army For Somalia” has been launched by Snapchat star Jérôme Jarre, Casey Neistat, and Stiller, amongst others. The goal was to raise $1 million in ten days, but in just three days the campaign has already raised close to double that amount.
The idea for the campaign began with Jarre posting a video to social media in a bid to convince Turkish Airlines to fill one of its cargo planes to Somalia with food. The post quickly went viral, bringing many like-minded voices to the cause, such as NFL star Colin Kaepernick.
🚨MAINSTREAM MEDIA WON'T TALK ABOUT IT !!!
REVOLTING !!!
LET'S MAKE NOISE !!!#TurkishAirlinesHelpSomalia 🚨 pic.twitter.com/iiyQrzyLC9
— JÉRÔME JARRE (@jeromejarre) March 15, 2017
“What we want to do together with you isn’t like anything done in the past,” the team wrote on the GoFundMe page. “We are promising you, the makers of this movement, full transparency… you will know where every dollar went, you will know all the successes of our mission, and all the struggles.”
The group then managed to get in touch with Turkish Airlines, who not only agreed to fill a full cargo flight with 60 tons of food, but also agreed to a subsequent 140 tons of food spread over the next six months. The first flight is scheduled for take-off on 27 March, so the group decided to head to GoFundMe to raise money to buy the 60 tons of food and water.
Shortly after Turkish Airlines agreed to provide its flights, the Stiller Foundation stepped in to receive and manage any funds raised so that donations would be tax-deductible.
Contributions to the campaign can be made here.
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