What Are Organizers Saying?

"One suggestion for people who want to throw a similar event: Combine activism for humanitarian relief in Gaza with socializing. Barack Obama's campaign demonstrated the potential for house party activism to raise money and make participants feel personally connected to the cause. We organized our event for Gaza within one week. You don't need to be part of an organization or have elaborate preparations to throw a wildly successful event. You just have to care. And you have to be able to tell your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors why they should care, too."

— Event Organizer

On January 16th, as friends and relatives poured into Washington, DC for inauguration weekend, three friends saw an opportunity to mobilize their communities to increase awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and raise funds for UPA through a house party themed, Change for Gaza.

This open house event featured music performances, poetry readings, hookah, a raffle, and a Middle Eastern spread donated by local restaurants. The organizers provided information and talking points about the Gaza crisis and encouraged guests to write letters to Members of Congress, which will be hand-delivered in the coming weeks.

Over 150 people spanning spectrums of age, nationality, religion, and profession spent the night in the company of new and old friends, demonstrated their solidarity with the people of Gaza, and raised $2,000 in humanitarian aid for UPA.

Who Benefited?

With funds raised from events like this, UPA will address the malnutrition crisis unfolding among Gaza's civilians. UPA will fund an analysis over the next 3 months of the prevalence and severity of malnutrition, and strive to feed the hungry in this region for months more to come.