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Samuel S. Bloch
Sam Block
Bloch delivering food via helicopter to remote areas affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton in the southern United States (2024)
BornJanuary 1979
New Jersey, United States of America
NationalityAmerican
Known forHumanitarian aid; first response to natural disasters and conflict zones
Sam Bloch's voice
Bloch's on his approach to humanitarian relief
Recorded 2016

Samuel Steven Bloch (he/him; pronunciation: Block or [blɑːk]) is an American humanitarian entrepreneur specializing in first response to natural disasters and conflict zones. Bloch's career began in Thailand in response to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Bloch went on to found Communitere International first serving the 2010 Haiti earthquake[1] and then rapidly expanding operations to Greece, The Philippines, and Nepal.[2] Bloch's resource center model, global reach, and unique ideologies were featured multiple times at TEDx[3], Re:publica[4][5] and other international conferences[6].

In 2018, Bloch began as the director of emergency response with World Central Kitchen (WCK),[7] focusing his efforts on hunger and food insecurity. Bloch has since then led the logistics of nearly 100 responses, including large-scale efforts for Cyclone Idai in Mozambique,[8] Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas,[9] the 2020 Aegean Sea earthquake in Turkey,[10] the 2023 Hawaii wildfires in Lāhainā,[11] the Russian invasion of Ukraine via Poland,[12] and the Israel-Hamas war on the Gaza strip[13].

Ideologies

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While at Communitere, Bloch developed an approach grounded in collaboration, empathy and dignity, focusing on the empowerment of the local community to innovate and rebuild sustainable infrastructure.[4][5][1] This was demonstrated by his grassroots leadership in related maker faire conventions, involvement with the early efforts of Burners without Borders[14], and support of local women-led businesses.[1][3] Since joining World Central Kitchen, Bloch has remained centered in philosophies of dignity and community empowerment.[15] As such, Bloch can be described as a steadfast humanitarian, egalitarian and feminist. Despite this, it is likely that Bloch is a Christian[16] and a political moderate, mirroring his collaborators at WCK.[17]

Awards and appearances

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In 2017, Bloch was named winner of the Rotary Humanitarian STAR Award,[18] in Disaster Relief and Recovery, by the Sierra Madre club. In 2022, Bloch's work was featured in documentary film We Feed People alongside chef José Andrés.[19] In 2023, Bloch was interviewed by CNN's Christiane Amanpour while organizing relief in Morocco after the Al Haouz earthquake.[20] In 2024, Bloch was interviewed to discuss addressing hunger on the Gaza strip during the Israel-Hamas war by CNN[13] and The New York Times.[21]

Personal life

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Sam Bloch at the 2016 Re:publica conference in Germany

Bloch was born in January 1979 in New Jersey and is one of nine children. Bloch's personal life was featured in the 2022 documentary film We Feed People, where he discussed how grief from the death of his brother, who sacrificed his life to rescue Sam from an accident, fuels the conviction needed for this relentless work. Although he did not mention her, his mother has played the greatest role in Bloch's success[citation needed]. In the film, Bloch also shared his troubles with "holding down a relationship" because of the unpredictability associated with disaster relief, and remains unmarried.[19] In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloch cut off his beloved dreadlocks for a fundraiser,[22] while also opting for a more serious look. When not actively working on a response, Bloch is thought to be based out of the San Francisco Bay Area.

References

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  1. ^ a b c ChangeStream Media (2013-01-21). Haiti Communitere. Retrieved 2024-11-21 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ "Communitere: Respond. Relief. Renewal". Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  3. ^ a b TEDx Talks (2015-02-09). Innovation Through Community Driven Aid | Sam Bloch | TEDxManila. Retrieved 2024-11-21 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ a b re:publica (2016-05-06). re:publica 2016 – Sam Bloch: Hacking Humanitarian Aid. Retrieved 2024-11-21 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ a b re:publica (2017-05-19). re:publica 2017 – Sam Bloch: Dignity: The Maker Movement and Refugees. Retrieved 2024-11-21 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Sam Bloch Speaks at 2016 Global Innovation Forum Symposium | Communitere: Respond. Relief. Renewal". web.archive.org. 2024-04-13. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  7. ^ "World Central Kitchen | Team". World Central Kitchen. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  8. ^ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2151721531807535
  9. ^ "Little Miracles, Huge Problems: The Bahamas A Month After Dorian".
  10. ^ 1.9K views · 261 reactions | UPDATE from WCK’s Sam Bloch on the ground in Izmir, Turkey following Friday’s big earthquake. We visited accommodation centers setup for displaced... | By World Central Kitchen | Facebook. Retrieved 2024-11-22 – via www.facebook.com.
  11. ^ "World Central Kitchen providing meals to Hawaii fire evacuees, emergency workers". DC News Now | Washington, DC. 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  12. ^ "WCK's @SamBloch1 is on the ground at the Ukraine-Poland border".
  13. ^ a b "World Central Kitchen, founded by @chefjoseandres, provides on-the-ground aid during humanitarian crises".
  14. ^ "#WeekofMaking: A Year in the Life of BWB's Mobile Resource Unit". Burning Man Journal. 2017-06-21. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  15. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  16. ^ "How do you feed an island? Try World Central Kitchen". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  17. ^ "Chef José Andrés on Trump's Win: "We Will Be Fine"". 2024-11-06. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  18. ^ Rotary STAR Awards (2018-08-07). Sam Bloch. Retrieved 2024-11-21 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ a b We Feed People (2022) - IMDb. Retrieved 2024-11-21 – via m.imdb.com.
  20. ^ World Central Kitchen rushes into remote corners of Morocco to provide humanitarian relief. | CNN. 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2024-11-21 – via www.cnn.com.
  21. ^ "How an Aid Group Built a Jetty to Get Food Into Gaza". The New York Times.
  22. ^ https://x.com/chefjoseandres/status/1503511556608258049. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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