Over 100 donors have given $3,069 to the Williams College Fundraiser for Palestinian Aid, a GoFundMe started by Cooper Desmond ’24 on Oct. 25.
Proceeds will be donated to the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), whose mission is to provide Palestinians with humanitarian assistance, as well as health and social services, according to the organization’s website. “[PRCS] works towards preventing and allaying human suffering, protecting life and health, ensuring the respect of human dignity, preventing disease, and promoting health, social care and volunteering both in times of peace and war as well as during emergencies, crises and disasters,” its website states.
“The humanitarian needs in Gaza are immense and growing by the minute,” Desmond wrote in the GoFundMe’s description. “As a part of the Williams community, I implore you to donate what you can to support Palestinian life.”
After Hamas’s Oct. 7 breach of the Israel-Gaza border in which the militant group killed approximately 1,200 people and took approximately 240 hostages, Israeli retaliation in the form of air and artillery strikes has killed over 11,000 Palestinians — the majority of whom are women and children.
After Desmond started the fundraiser, he shared it with students and recent alums, and he hung roughly 20 flyers to promote it in buildings including Paresky Center and Schapiro Hall. The fundraiser spread from there, as members of the College community shared it with one another and posted about it on Instagram.
“I know I put my name on the fundraiser, but I really just pushed the first domino,” Desmond said in an interview with the Record. “It’s been very much a team effort of the Williams community.” Desmond added that he chose PRCS, an organization he learned about in religion classes at the College, because he knew its history and trusted its mission.
The fundraiser’s initial goal was to raise $1,000, which it surpassed within a few days. Desmond then increased the goal to $2,000, and, once that target was met, to $5,000 on Nov. 5. “I thought $1,000 was a huge goal,” Desmond said. “But there was just a lot of momentum behind it.”
Desmond and the College’s Mutual Aid are also in the process of planning and acquiring objects for a silent auction on campus, both to raise money to reach the $5,000 goal and to spread awareness about the need for Palestinian aid. If students would like to donate to the auction, they can reach out directly to Desmond, he said.
“I really didn’t come in with huge plans, except to make as big a difference as we can,” Desmond said. “In the grand scheme of things, it’s small, but I think every little bit counts.”
Luke Chinman contributed reporting.
