Dearborn Foundation Campaign Supports Lebanon Relief Efforts

DEARBORN, MI — The Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) — a national community foundation based in Dearborn and a national institution of ACCESS — has launched a second disaster relief campaign for Lebanon.

The effort is aimed at helping several non-profit groups in their work to airlift medical and pharmaceutical supplies and equipment to Beirut in the aftermath of the explosion that occurred August 4.

CAAP officials said that with over 200 lives lost, 110 still missing, 6,000 injured and some 300,000 left displaced and homeless, the explosion has affected not only those in Beirut, but the international Arab community as well. Many Lebanese-Americans based in Dearborn, and those across the state and U.S., find themselves concerned with the well-being of their family members in Beirut.

What began as a private initiative by ATFL and Flint-based philanthropists Ghassan and Manal
Saab has now grown into a national partnership with several nonprofit organizations, the U.S
Department of State and the American Embassy in Beirut, to deliver essential supplies to
hospitals and NGOs on the ground.

Officials said the first plane will be sent to Lebanon on Aug. 23 with nearly $4 million in medical and surgical supplies.

CAAP announced Friday that 100 percent of current donations to its Disaster Relief Fund will support the efforts to airlift critical supplies to Beirut, where hospitals only have a few days of
essential supplies available.

This latest project builds on the success of the recent CAAP campaign launched on Aug. 5, which resulted in a $75,155 grant to the Lebanese Red Cross to support its on-the-ground relief work.

Created as a response to global humanitarian and environmental crises, the Disaster Relief
Fund, housed at CAAP, has previously supported a variety of international and domestic
campaigns for disaster relief and recovery in countries and cities such as Yemen, Syria, Haiti,
Gaza, Japan, Houston and Oklahoma City.