Leading aid organizations in the United States are reporting a surge in charitable donations for helping refugees in the week since a photograph of a drowned Syrian toddler rocketed around social media worldwide.
The U.S. Fund for UNICEF said donations had gone up 636 percent, and traffic to its website had tripled.
Save the Children, which has worked with victims of the Syria conflict for years, said it also had seen sharp increases in donations and new interest in helping from corporate benefactors.
"You see a dead child and can't help but be catapulted into action," said Caryl M. Stern, president of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
The photo of Aylan Kurdi, 3, touched many people because he was "not just a baby caught in a crossfire — he was savable," she said.
Carolyn Miles of Save the Children, said that in the first eight months of this year, it raised $200,000 for its Syria work. "In the last eight days, we've raised $800,000," she said. "It really did change things."
New York Times
