Hi, I'm David Cure,

I grew up in Colombia. On Monday morning, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit the western part of the country, the strongest one recorded there in over a century. The epicenter was in San José del Palmar, in Chocó, one of the poorest and hardest to reach regions in Colombia, but the damage runs through Cali, Pereira, Manizales, Quibdó, and Buenaventura. Hundreds of people have died. Thousands of homes are gone. In Cali, part of a hospital collapsed, including the pediatric and neonatal wards.

I have spent the last day watching this from a distance and wanting to do something that actually helps. This is that.

I am raising money for Direct Relief, a U.S. nonprofit that specializes in getting medicine and medical supplies into disaster zones. They are already working with organizations inside Colombia to identify the most urgent needs and are preparing antibiotics, wound care materials, surgical supplies, and field medic packs. They are consistently rated among the most efficient humanitarian organizations in the country. You can verify them yourself on Charity Navigator and at Give.org before you give a dollar. I would rather you check than take my word for it.

**A few things about how this works, so there is no confusion. Your donation goes directly to Direct Relief. It does not pass through me, it does not touch my bank account, and I never handle any of it. GoFundMe processes it and sends it straight to them. You will get your own tax receipt by email, so your donation is deductible under your name, not mine.**

Two practical notes. When you check out, GoFundMe will suggest an optional tip for itself, already filled in. You can set that to zero if you want your full gift going to Colombia. And please check whether your employer matches charitable donations. Many companies match dollar for dollar and most people never use it. Direct Relief qualifies with all the major matching programs, so a $100 gift can quietly become $200.

Any amount helps. Donations support Direct Relief’s emergency response, including medicines, wound-care and surgical supplies, antibiotics, Field Medical Packs for first responders, and other urgently needed assistance. If all you can do is share this, that helps too.

Thank you for reading this far, and thank you for anything you can give. Colombia is going to be rebuilding for a long time after the news moves on.

With gratitude,

David