Fundraiser support for Palestine

Thank you to the fantastic Shadiya for hosting a fundraiser to support Hope and Play at Diego’s Joint, Sunderland.

See more from Shadiya’s fundraiser on Instagram here.

Shadiya knew of Hope and Play prior to the start of the war in 2023. Being of Palestinian descent, she wanted to do something to support the people in Gaza and to raise awareness among local people in Sunderland.

Beautiful, warm and uplifting

Shadiya shared with us a bit more about the event she organised in June this year.

“We gathered local artists who had written music for Palestine, held a theatrical performance of I Am Rachel Corrie. Two Palestinian speakers including myself spoke about our experiences of living under occupation in Palestine.

“The situation in Palestine makes us all feel so heartbroken and helpless. The event helped to raise funds while also raising awareness amongst locals in our city.

“It was such a beautiful, warm and uplifting event and really lifted our spirits coming together for Palestine and being amongst like minded people. We raised £570 for Hope and Play.”

She also shared why she chose to support Hope and Play:

“We chose Hope and Play as I had been aware of the charity for a few years. In the past I have bought Hope and Play calendars as gifts, so I knew it is a well-established and reliable charity already helping children on the ground in Gaza and the West Bank, even before this current genocide. I had seen the updates of the work over the past few months raising the spirits of the children as best you can.“

If you are interested in hosting a fundraising event, please let us know! Set up your own fundraiser in support of Hope and Play or contact us on [email protected] to learn more about how to do this.