Palo Alto resident Mauricio Sepulveda and his wife are organizing shipments of first aid kits, baby food and pharmaceuticals to earthquake-hit Venezuela every two weeks, according to The Oracle, Gunn High School’s student newspaper.

Two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck northern Venezuela on Wednesday, June 24, less than a minute apart, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring more than 16,700, according to World Vision. The Red Cross described them as two of the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in more than a century.

Tens of thousands of people were still unaccounted for as of late July.

Sepulveda told The Oracle that he and his wife organized the community effort days after the disaster. His wife posted a request for donations on Facebook seeking support from Palo Alto residents.

“A couple days after the earthquake happened, my wife posted to Facebook asking for support in the community,” Sepulveda told The Oracle. “The response was unbelievable.”

Sepulveda told The Oracle that he and his wife are partnering with a group he identified as Boots on the Ground to collect and ship first aid kits, baby food and pharmaceuticals.

The campaign is expected to continue through the end of 2026, with shipments planned every two weeks, according to The Oracle.

The need remains substantial. Nearly 24,000 survivors were living in state-run displacement camps as of late July, and the United Nations projected that 1.3 million people would require assistance over the following six months, The New Humanitarian reported.

Across the United States, Venezuelan community groups, nonprofits and Venezuelan-owned businesses have also been collecting donations and raising money to support recovery efforts, according to Florida International University.

The Oracle did not list a public drop-off location or specific schedule for the Palo Alto collection.