BOULDER - For Boulder-based web designer Andrew Baron, it was a trip to Lebanon that inspired his quest to help Syrian refugees forced from their homes.
Last month Baron launched a new website called Humanwire to help support those refugees.
Humanwire implores a sort of crowdfunding technique to allow donors to directly finance and support an individual or family of refugees. Through the site, donors can pay for living expenses, clothing, and even directly pay for medical expenses.
"It basically takes the charity and removes it from the middle and puts the donor and the recipient together for a direct connection," Baron said.
In the three weeks that Humanwire has been live Baron says the site has raised more money than he anticipated.
Baron works with a company called Lebanese 4 Refugees to help deliver supplies, which he says takes roughly 24-48 hours.
"Sometimes you want to do more than give a few dollars," Baron said.
Baron says the best part about the site is that the process is completely transparent. He says donors can track the money they give and are constantly in contact with the person or family that they are supporting, ensuring every cent goes to where it's supposed to.
"When you purchase a coat and the next day you see her putting on a coat that you gave her, and she's looking at a picture of you and you can connect, it's an amazing world we live in," he said.
Humanwire currently features roughly 250 refugees. More are signing up and one day, he hopes Humanwire can feature thousands of refugees.
"Even though you can't bring somebody into your home you can still provide them with support in their own region," Baron said.
For more information on Humanwire, visit: https://www.humanwire.org/
(© 2015 KUSA)
