Chicagoans React and Respond With Giving Toward Syria

(CBS) -- The impact of the missile strike on Syria is felt here in Chicago.

CBS 2's Jeremy Ross has more on those with ties to Syria trying to help -- some though family, others through a call to action.

At age 25, Dr. Talal Sunbulli left Syria. Some of his family remains, including two sisters.

"I just talked to one of them this morning. She's fine," Sunbulli says. "We wait to see what happens next. Yes, it is panic. We don't know what happens next."

He supports this week's U.S. attack on a Syrian military air base, but he says he hopes settlements and safety zones replace missiles and military might.

Michelle Taylor is a local mom leading a group that is raising awareness and money for new parents in the war-torn region.

She and a fellow Chicagoan, Nabila Ali, started Parcel of Love, a fundraising campaign providing supplies for newborns.

The goal to raise $250,000. In only 24 hours, people have donated about $70,000.

"We see these images and babies in Syria, and they could be any of our children," Taylor says.

Meanwhile, the not-for-profit site Heroic Hearts hopes to help 1,500 Syrian families.

The group is hoping to get to their goal in about 2 ½ weeks.

If that happens, they'll host an event to pack the baby supplies before they're shipped out.

More on the Parcel of Love campaign here.