CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort)

Join me and CORE’s Sudan Program Lead Shaima Siddigi for a virtual discussion hosted by the Women’s Foreign Policy Group on the civil war in Sudan on Wednesday, October 30th, from 9 to10 AM PST. Together, with a panel of experts, we will explore the impact of the crisis on women and girls, who have been disproportionately affected, and discuss the challenges that lie ahead.  Send me a LinkedIn message, and I will send you a Zoom link to tune in! #sudan #wfpg

Last week I had the pleasure of taking part in the Advancement of Pharmacy Practice Leveraging Innovation, Evidence, and Safety (APPLIES) Conference hosted by the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on the island of Maui. It was an honor to be selected as a member of the keynote panel, addressing an audience of leading health experts on how community-based organizations like CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) can reduce health disparities through pragmatic, high impact, contextually relevant interventions. Long story short: the healthcare sector, academia, and local nonprofits can work together to build healthier communities, decrease costs, and boost patient outcomes. Eternally grateful to Dean Vassilios Papadopoulos, Dr. Steven Chen, my incredibly distinguished co-panelists, and everyone at USC for putting together such an incredible, four-day event. Beyond energized by the virtually limitless number of opportunities to advance collaboration between these sectors.

Semara is a community leader in Canoas, a town on the outskirts of Porto Alegre, Brazil which saw heavy flooding that displaced nearly one-third of its residents.  Fortunately, Semara’s home withstood the disaster and sustained little damage. She graciously offered up her home as a base for relief supply distributions in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Mobilizing her neighbors she passed out hot dogs and coffee on the first day; assembled and distributed over 150 lunches over the next couple days; then clothes and blankets to keep people warm. Impacted community members learned about her services through word of mouth, and she continuously adapted to meet their needs.     CORE luckily connected with Semara and helped reinforce her efforts to reach even more people. Together in her home, we assembled and distributed hygiene and cleaning kits. Learn more about the team that helped Brazilians recover from the floods by visiting https://lnkd.in/gGZwn_Jp  

Linda Oxendine, CORE North Carolina Area Manager is in Swannanoa, North Carolina, with our partners and volunteers helping us bring relief to families affected by Hurricane Helene. CORE received a generous lumber donation from Rickey and Jamey Deese, brothers and members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The brothers rallied the Lumbee tribal community, with over fifty individuals and businesses contributing to the drive. CORE is deeply grateful to the Deese family for spearheading this grassroots effort. Huge thank you All Hands and Hearts and our volunteers who have worked so hard the past few days to make an impact in the community. CORE’s work in North Carolina is far from over, learn more about our response: https://lnkd.in/gj6dAQYT 

Education during war is not only challenging, it is not always safe. According to the Ministry of Education, every seventh school in Ukraine has been damaged by shelling, and about 400 educational institutions have been destroyed.       This year, together with savED and Ukraiinska Pravda, CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) completed the repair of a shelter at Lyceum No. 55 in Mykolaiv. The 900-square-meter space is divided into classrooms, has a medical office, high-quality ventilation, and can accommodate about 1,000 children. Another project is the repair of a lyceum in the village of Ukrainka in Mykolaivska obalst, which was hit by two shells in 2022.      This is thousands of children every year who will be able to receive education and a space to socialize, which so much lack in distance learning. I see it already and sure that very soon these children will help to build a strong prosperous Ukraine. 

CORE is proud to support the power of Sudanese community-based organizations, which have been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and provide critical support during increasing violence and looming famine across the country. Mutual aid can change the world, and Sudan’s local associations are leading the way, providing lifesaving support to their own communities across the country. These local organizations operate in a decentralized manner, delivering essential humanitarian assistance in challenging conflict situations, with limited access, resources and infrastructure. Volunteers frequently work in unsafe regions, encountering risks of harassment and violence to support war-affected communities amidst the ongoing war. Learn more by visiting https://lnkd.in/dcFqReNB #sudan #coreresponse  

Well done Shallin Chikoto! #aidex #coreresponse

CORE rapidly deployed teams following Hurricane Helene to Lowndes County, Georgia and Hendersonville and Asheville, North Carolina reaching over 60,000 people with nearly 230,000 critical resources including hygiene kits, tarps, drinking water, and ready to eat meal kits. We also tarped severely damaged homes and conducted medical and wellness checks to support community members, many of whom are elderly, low income, uninsured, or managing chronic illnesses. Having had a history of extensive programming and emergency responses in Georgia and North Carolina, CORE’s efforts in the region are far from over. Interested in partnering with us? https://lnkd.in/gj6dAQYT   #hurricanehelene #corereponse #partnerships

Senior Director of Strategic Partnership, Shallin Chikoto, will be speaking tomorrow at AidEx Geneva! https://lnkd.in/gcfJDzp4 #aidex

CORE’s North Carolina Emergency Response Team arrived in Transylvania County to assess hurricane damage in a small mobile home community in Brevard. Despite losing their homes to the devastation of Hurricane Helene, community members are staying hopeful, focusing on rebuilding their homes and their lives. CORE is committed to delivering immediate relief and sustained assistance to communities facing humanitarian disasters worldwide. Interested in joining our Emergency Response Team or partnering with us?  Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gTMnJSvB   #Transylvaniacounty #northcarolina #hurricanehelene