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Several Atlanta-based Turkish business and cultural groups are organizing a relief fund for victims of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit the eastern part of that country Oct. 23.

More than 270 people have been confirmed killed by the quake and several aftershocks, while thousands are homeless.

Atlanta’s Istanbul Center and Turkish American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeast U.S. are accepting donations to the Istanbul Center Turkey Earthquake Relief Fund for relief and reconstruction.

Contributions can be mailed to the Istanbul Center’s office at Two Midtown Plaza, 1349 West Peachtree St., Suite 1010, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.

Donations can also be sent online via PayPal from the center’s website at www.istanbulcenter.org or wired directly to the fund at Wells Fargo & Co. bank account number 6020584402.

The Atlanta chapter of the American Turkish Friendship Council is also collecting funds to repair a school or dormitory in the eastern city of Van, Turkey, which is in the region most badly affected by the quake.

Donations to this fund can be sent to: ATFC, 1266 West Paces Ferry Rd., Unit 257, Atlanta, Georgia 30327. Checks should be made out to the American Turkish Friendship Council and have Van Earthquake Relief Fund in the memo line.

Funds can also be sent via PayPal from www.theatfc.org.