HALIFAX -- When a devastating explosion rocked Beirut, Lebanon on August 4, Jaden Lawen knew he wanted to help.

The 17 year old typically visits Lebanon every summer but was unable to go this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still Lawen has loved ones in the capital city.

"My aunt's there right now and I have family there and a few of my friends are there. One of my friends was actually injured in the explosion,” said Lawen. "He went up to the window to see what happen and then the glass like exploded."

Thankfully, Lawen says his friend is on the mend.

"He got cuts on his legs and arms so he had to do some physio and rehibilitation to get his walking and his like motor skills back to normal, but, he's doing good, he's in recovery,” he said.

A few weeks ago, Lawen started fundraising for humanitarian aid on his website, Halifax to Beirut with Love. 

"This fundraiser is actually in direct partnership with the Canadian Red Cross,” said Lawen. "The second you donate money to this page is the second it actually goes to the people in need and it actually goes on the ground to the people who need it the most."

Lawen’s initial goal was $20,000. To date, he’s managed to raise almost four times that amount, nearly $80,000.

Lawen says the money will help those left with nothing in the wake of the explosion. 

"I'm helping people who need shelter, they don't have a home. I'm helping people who need food, who need medical services, who need emergencies services like surgeries who haven't gotten the attention they needed,” he said.

The teen’s exceptional fundraising efforts haven’t gone unnoticed in the community.

"I'm really very proud of the young people of the parish and of the community because they are very excited to support and help friends in Lebanon. Jaden is one of them, because he has attached to many of the friends back home and the compassion I saw from them is wonderful,” said Father Maximos Saikali, Saint Antonios Antiochian Orthodox Church.

"It's a pretty substantial effort by one student,” said Dan Bedell, with the Canadian Red Cross. “I think there are a lot of reasons for the reaction. Mostly, of course, just being the extend of the disaster, and the fact that he has a personal, family connection there. I think is always a bit of a motivator for both him and the people who are supporting his campaign."

As for Lawen, he has no plans to stop fundraising anytime soon. In fact, he says he wants to continue to raise money to help Beruit until the city can be rebuilt.

"We just have to not forget about Beirut and keep talking about Beirut and don't let it like slip out of the media and have people continue to know about it and continue to be aware of what's happening,” he said.