After attending the February 10th fundraising dinner in Philadelphia, despite being unceremoniously thrown at door and cleaning duties, Iyas came back to England and with Tony determined that they would set up the organisation’s first arm outside of Philadelphia. We are working with the Charities Commission in the UK to obtain charitable status, and have set up our first fundraising event, a sponsored bicycle ride
The Philadelphia chapter of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee honored Playgrounds for Palestine at its 25th anniversary banquet on April 28, 2007 at the Renaissance Hotel Philadelphia Airport. Mr Naim Ayoub and Mr Abed Awad, Esq. were also awarded for their community activism. The Syrian Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Dr Imad Moustapha delivered the keynote address followed by a fun evening of dabkeh and music. All of us at PfP are very honored and grateful for this recognition. We hope it will serve to further raise awareness of the desperate conditions that Palestinian children are forced to endure under Israeli military occupation, which has been condemned universally by the international community and human rights
Our friend, Karen Kovalcik, held her annual olive oil fundraiser to benefit Playgrounds for Palestine on November 16th and 17th, 2006. Once again, she prepared a spectacular party, with delicious Middle Eastern food and various wines at her beautiful Yardley home for nearly 100 guests. This year, Karen sold more than 15 cases of Palestinian olive oil (with orders for more), raising over $3000 for PfP. We would like to extend our warmest gratitude to Karen for hosting such an inspiring fundraiser at home. One guest said: “It is heartening to see people like Karen who are willing to give so much of themselves and what they have for very little in return, save the satisfaction of helping others.” Thank you, Karen, and everyone who purchased olive oil that day!
Philadelphia Fox News featured a story on its news programming about Playgrounds for Palestine in May 2002, after founder susan abulhawa traveled to Jenin just after a major invasion of a refugee camp by Israeli occupation forces.
Playgrounds for Palestine was the featured in Today’s Playground, a leading industry magazine, in their April 2003 issue. Please click here to read the story.
We are excited to announce the launch of an initiative we’ve been working on for a while. PfP established a school in Gaza for grades 1-5. We’re in our third week now of operation and it’s amazing. The school is a mixture of traditional and non-traditional learning. The first few days were focused on getting to know each other, consulting with children about what they want to get out of the school, how they want to decorate the space, and assessing their skills and abilities. It was decided to name the school: Phoenix Elementary. مدرسةالعنقاء As you can see, the kids were over the moon to be in a classroom after their lives were turned upside down. Grades 1-4 are focused on Arabic, English, math, and science, while grade 5 (along
Play, while it cannot change the external realities of children’s lives, can be a vehicle for children to explore and enjoy their differences and similarities and to create, even for a brief time, a more just world where everyone is an equal and valued participant.