Middle Eastern Student Association at UCLA fundraises $24,300 for Gaza relief

This post was updated Nov. 26 at 11:25 p.m.

The Middle Eastern Student Association at UCLA has raised $24,300 for a charity working to provide medical care to children in Gaza.

The organization’s campaign raised the money by selling boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. For each $15 box, half of the proceeds were given to MESA, which the organization then donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund in light of the ongoing violence in Gaza.

A board member of MESA, who was granted anonymity due to safety concerns around Islamophobia on campus, said their organization decided to fundraise because of worries its members had for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“It was really important for us to find an organization that can deliver critical aid,” they said. “PCRF stood out to us because they are on the ground providing essential medical supplies, food, medical treatment, clean water and other necessities for families in the conflict.”

The board member said fundraising has always been a central part of MESA’s mission, as the organization hosted similar fundraisers in response to an earthquake in Turkey and Syria. They added that MESA is planning future fundraising efforts, including selling bracelets on Bruin Walk.

MESA’s donut fundraiser involved a social media campaign that was reposted by the official PCRF social media accounts, the board member said, adding that the boost in engagement led to donut orders placed from across the country.

According to the campaign’s page on GroupRaise, an online food-based charity fundraising website, MESA received donations from 1,941 supporters, selling nearly 39,000 donuts in the process.

PCRF was MESA’s chosen charity because it provides on the ground resources in the region, the board member said.

“PCRF is mainly focusing on emergency medical supplies, and they also are making sure that children have access to clean water and food,” they said. “There are over 1 million children in Gaza. … It’s (The fundraiser is) giving them access to resources that everyone has a right to have.”