December 2020 Monthly Newsletter

PACC Dec 2020 monthly newsletter

plans for 2021 We have so much planned for 2021 and cannot wait to get to work! Everything we do is centered in our theory of change. If we empower and organize our community locally, then we will have a positive impact on our society here and in Palestine.

Some of our plans include but are not limited to: 1. Continuing to build out our partnership with other community organizations 2. Looking into hiring a social worker to col laborate with all of our local social service organizations and help our clients find the referrals they need!

3. Planning to start our museum project.

4. Offering a variety of programs for our community.

5. Developing a virtual component to the Home land Project Trip

Our Board of Directors had their Annual Planning Meeting On Sunday, December 13th the PACC Board of Directors had their annual planning meeting with the executive director. We assessed what went well last year, what could have gone better, revisited our SWOT analysis, discussed our goals for 2020 and what we achieved, approved the budget for 2021 and put together a plan for 2021.

Silent Auction & End of Year Appeal PACC held its first ever virtual silent auction of 18 items and/or experiences and with the help of 30 bidders we were able to raise $2,470! We are excited to repeat this experience in the future and raise more money for PACC! In addition to our silent auction, we hosted an End of Year Appeal campaign where we compiled our major accomplishments for 2020 in an annual report. We sent it out via our EMail List, we mailed about 100 copies and texted it to most of our supporters!

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We Held a Christmas in Palestine Campaign PACC wished all our Christian and Catholic community members a very Merry Christmas, and reminded everyone of the rich history and significance of Christmas in Palestine that all Palestinians are extremely proud of, through our Christmas in Palestine campaign. Shared on all our social media platforms and through our mailing list, we showcased pictures and highlighted the ways that Palestinians celebrate Christmas, specifically in the cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.

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meat distrubution With funds from a Penny Appeal Grant and the generosity of Al-Hilal Meat and Fish Market and Jerusalem Supermarket, we were able to help 200 families that consisted of 205 women, 175 men and 470 children with $65 vouchers. Through a generous donation from Amyan Moheisen, on behalf of his belated father, we were also able to distribute 400 pounds of meat to 80 families in need.

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social service : Clothing Distribution throughout Passaic County With the generosity of Jim Nouri, we had $3,000 worth of clothes donated to PACC. We held a clothing drive throughout the week from December 15th until December 22nd. We invited different organizations and spread the word out to anyone that is in need of clothes to come by our center and pick up different types of clothing. We partnered with YMCA Paterson to distrubte the remaining clothes..

virtual events : How-To Tuesday: We Hosted an Online Tabla Workshop This month, we collaborated with fellow NNAAC member Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, an arts organization based in Philadelphia that highlights Arab art, culture, and activism. As the holidays approach, we decided it would be fun to celebrate the holidays Palestinian style with a tabla lesson and performance followed by a live Q&A session with Al-Bustan’s well known musician and percussionist, Hafez Kotain. Between Facebook and Youtube, we had about 1,431 viewers.

palestine monday We collaborated with the founder/director of Donkeysaddle Productions to host a private screening of There Is A Field, a play about Aseel Asleh, a 17-year old Palestinian citizen of Israel killed by police in October 2000 that is now being performed by Black activists to highlight Black-Palestinian solidarity. We had 26 people join, and after virtually watching the film together, we held a post-film discussion with the director and actors themselves; the conversation left people emotional, especially when one of the Palestinian elders on the call expressed how emotional it was for him to watch it and be reminded of life in Palestine.

Overall, everyone left inspired and motivated to learn and do more for Palestine, the Black struggle in the US, and all oppressed people.

Workshop Wednesdays: We Held a College Application Workshop Recognizing the stress of finishing up college applications, we hosted a workshop to help anyone applying for college from our community with everything related to college applications. The workshop was facilitated by Salman Khan, the founder of Hidayah Services, and touched on everything from personal statements to advice on extracurriculars to be involved in.

The workshop had about 15 participants- made up mostly of high school students and a couple of people applying to graduate school- who all greatly benefited and appreciated the advice.

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We gave out Holiday Bags to our Neighbors In an effort to both build stronger relationships with PACC’s neighbors and increase awareness of the work that PACC does, we handed out around 40 holiday gift bags- that included chocolates, PACC stickers, a personal letter from the Executive Director, and a copy of our most up to date monthly newsletter. .

We are Collaborating with BlackLivesMatter Paterson As part of PACCs ongoing work with local organizations that uplift and empower vulnerable communities in Passaic County, we are happy to be working with and supporting BLM Paterson on two main projects: 1) hosting their medic trainings in our center where people of color can get CPR certified and 2) collaborating with them on the new community fridge project to provide healthy and free food options to people in Paterson who need it the most.

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Community Outreach Efforts : We Hosted a Blood Drive We continue working with Vitalant, a nonprofit organization that collects and provides blood/blood products locally and nationally, to host blood drives at our center where people can donate blood to help those in need and get a free COVID-19 antibody test at the same time.

We Ended our First Session of Programs! : Tutoring

Dabka Classes

Student Successful Program is effectively serving as a remedy for student underachievement. We have completed all assessments, created files for each student, and set specific goals. With the guidance of our tutors students are on the path to success.

We wrapped up the session with a virtual mini-recital and a Pizza Party. Students are quickly learning and even showing off at family events. We look forward to all the new registrants and returning students in January.

Arabic Classes On the last day of classes progress reports and surveys were distributed.

Survey participants were entered in a gift card giveaway. Congratulations to Mohammad Diab for winning the giveaway. We look forward to starting our next session in January!

follow us on social media!

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website: www.PACCUSA.org Instagram: @PACCUSA facebook: Palestinian American Community Center tik tok: @PACC_USA