On Saturday, August 22nd, several teenagers and young adults from St. George Orthodox Church of Boston held a car wash in order to raise funds for the victims of a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon in early August.

The explosion, caused when a toxic, combustible chemical caught fire, killed at least 200 people, injured around 5,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

Rev. Timothy J. Ferguson, who leads the church, told The Christian Post that the majority of its members are from Lebanon and desired to contribute towards their homeland following the blast.

Ferguson shared:

“Our community, my parish, that is to say, is about 60 percent immigrants from Lebanon.
And so, there were a lot of people who were directly affected by the explosion that took place there,”

He also added :

“So, they wanted to reach out and respond. It was an initiative on the part of the teenagers, the young people in the parish,”

The car wash lasted from 10 am-4 pm on Saturday in West Roxbury, charging $10 per vehicle.

But Ferguson pointed out that multiple drivers donated “way more than what was asked.” Ultimately, the church was able to raise more than $7,000 over the weekend.

The church wrote on its Instagram:

“Thanks to everyone who showed up today. We managed to raise about $7,000 for Beirut,”

The pastor told remarked :

“They can’t physically get up and go there, so they know that those funds are being used for what they would do had they been given the chance to go there,”

Donations can be made on the church’s donation page under the option “Beirut Disaster Relief Fund.”

Christian organizations such as World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse have also offered relief to Beirut.