Café 422 Raises $50K for Victims of Turkey Earthquake

WARREN, Ohio – A local restaurant’s fundraising effort has brought in $50,000 to help support the victims of last month’s devastating earthquake in Turkey.

The magnitude-7.8 earthquake on Feb. 6 and aftershocks killed at least 45,000 people in Turkey, and damage could exceed $100 billion, a U.N. agency says.

Brothers Serdar Dede and Erdal Dede, owners of Café 422, hosted a Generous Hearts for Turkey event on Feb. 27 and set up a GoFundMe page to help victims. Nearly 1,000 patrons attended the event at the restaurant, while others dropped off checks or contributed to the GoFundMe page. The combined effort raised $50,000.

“I’d like to say I’m very thankful for all the support we received from the Mahoning Valley community,” Serdar said. “I know it’s going to take a tremendous amount of time and money to rebuild from the devastation there, but every little bit helps. My brother, the restaurant staff, our family and I cannot express enough how much this means to us.”

Café 422 will send the donations to The Foundation of Anatolian People and Peace Platform.

Pictured at top: Café 422 staff. Kneeling, Front Row: Joe Toto, Jessica Gillespie, Lindsey Arnio, Tiffany Ragozine, Kenneth Clay. Standing, Back Row: Mahmet Kusuni, Serdar Dede, Deniz Yildirim (behind check), Erdal Dede, Michelle Cook, Sara Anders

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.