Not-for-profit organisation Olive Kids will hold its annual fundraising dinner on March 19 at Peninsula on Central Pier for the ninth year in a row.
Olive Kids is an Australian foundation for Palestinian children, aiming to improve the lives of young Palestinians affected by occupation. The organisation is made up entirely of volunteers.
Four of those volunteers are founder and board members Amin Abbas, Yasmeen Judeh, Mohammad Othman and Mo Hamdouna. All work right here in Docklands, across the technology, design and insurance sectors.
When choosing their fundraising dinner venue, Mr Othman said the organisation saw Peninsula as the obvious choice every year.
“It’s quite a nice venue in a central location and they’ve been really supportive of our cause and helped us out a lot. It’s a good relationship,” Mr Othman said.
Mr Hamdouna is the creative director of MoWorks, a creative agency based in Docklands. MoWorks is also a member of the Docklands Chamber of Commerce, and Mr Hamdouna is proud to support Olive Kids through his business.
“One of the first points of contact was knowing that Olive Kids brings their fundraiser to Docklands every year,” said Mr Hamdouna, “I believe it’s a great cause.”
This year’s dinner campaign is “The Story of Israa”, a personal and real story. Israa is a young Palestinian girl in need of education, health care and a home.
Sadly, Israa’s story is not a unique one. To help Israa and others just like her, this year’s fundraising dinner aims to raise money to fund education, specifically within the health sector.
Olive Kids is hoping to raise $60,000 to fund five full-year nursing scholarships in Gaza, as well as an additional $25,000 for support for Syrian and Palestinian Children at the Zatari refugee camp.
Money raised at the dinner will help continue Olive Kids’ work with Gaza orphanage, Al-Amal. $95,000 will see an Olive Kids wing built at Al-Amal to house 60 orphans under the age of five.
Currently, Olive Kids sponsors around 214 Palestinian children at the orphanage. Money raised at the fundraising dinner will also go towards the sponsorship of 25 new children.
The ninth annual fundraising dinner includes a three-course meal prepared by former footballer Jason Johnson and internationally renowned chef John Casey.
Tickets can be purchased at http://www.eventbrite.com.au
This article appears in the Dockland News.