Highland Falls’ woman works for Turkish Philanthropy Fund
On a recent Sunday evening the news broke that a massive earthquake had hit Turkey and Syria. For most in the United States, it’s been tragic to watch as workers tried to save as many men, women and children as they could; sadly, the death toll has reached over 46,000.
But for one Highland Falls woman, there’s been no time to sit passively and mourn those lost.
Selin Kapan-Green has worked for the Turkish Philanthropy Fund (TPF) since 2020; she is the communications lead. Based in New York City, it’s a 16-year-old community foundation.
There have been many — large earthquakes that hit lesser populated regions in 2020 and 2021, wildfires, COVID, and now this year’s earthquake that hit a very heavily populated area.
So, when Green got the call from her company that Sunday evening, she and the others on her four-person team jumped right into action, raising money to help.
Since its founding in 2007, TPF has granted more than $28 million to 180+ nonprofit organizations and initiatives in the U.S. and in Turkey. They work with vetted partners doing the rescue and recovery work, as well as those working to help the survivors.
Let’s back up. Kapan-Green was born in Turkey and came to Illinois with her parents at age 2. She was raised in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area of Illinois. She attended Illinois State University, majoring in political science and history; during that time she became aware of her strong desire to work for some type of humanitarian organization.
“I think it may be a cultural thing for many immigrants,” Kapan-Green said from her home office last week. “Many immigrants have seen and heard about struggle and want to find a way to give back. I know in my family we are very grateful for all those people who helped us along the way.”
But her story took a little twist … she also got bitten by the political/governmental bug, participating in the Model UN program (which also helped her on the way to the non-profit sector), and working on President Obama’s re-election campaign.
After that, she moved to New York City and “sold furniture at Macy’s and worked as a bartender” before working for a non-profit which helped formerly incarcerated youth. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she took a position with the TPF — “I only worked in the office for two weeks before we started working from home,” she recalls.
She’s been busy these last three years, but that level of busy ratcheted up several weeks ago. She starts work at about 6:30 a.m. every day, managing all of the TPF’s social media and websites (www.tpfund.org; @turkishphilanthropyfunds on Instagram; and Turkish Philanthropy Funds on Facebook). She also manages the TPF’s email accounts; does media interviews and podcasts; and writes marketing materials.
She doesn’t mind the long hours a bit. Her family lost seven extended family members in the most recent earthquake, and has family friends living in cars in Turkey.
“This is truly a tragic event; a humanitarian crisis,” she said.
She is proud of her employer’s work — “100 percent of donations go to relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts on the ground.,” she said.
On the website there is a ‘ticker’ of sorts where one can watch as donations have come in. Kapan-Green said there have been incredibly generous donations made — think $1 million plus matching programs. But there are also $5 donations and gifts of “every size”.
She expects her days will stay busy for quite a while to come — “There will be years of rebuilding,” she said, “this is going to be a long process.”
Kapan-Green and her husband Sam moved to Highland Falls just a year ago; Sam’s dad, Bill, is a long-time resident.
Information on how to donate to help in the rebuilding in Turkey is available on the website or at any of the social media sites listed above. Again, no amount is too small.