PACC's 2024 Annual Report

Annual Report

Palestinian American Community Center

PACC’s 2024 Annual Report 10 Years of PACC: A Decade of Community, Culture, and Commitment By the community, for the community paccusa.org @paccusa

2024

Annual Report 2024

A Word from the Executive Director and Board President Dear PACC Family, As we begin 2025, let us take a moment to reflect on all that you accomplished in 2024—a year that tested us in unimaginable ways. The genocide in Gaza raged on, and its devastating impact reverberated through every aspect of our work. The heartbreak was palpable in our events, our programs, and our community. Yet in the face of this immense pain, you showed up - time and time again - with resilience, compassion, and unwavering dedication.

In the face of opposition and erasure, through institutions like PACC, you rose to the occasion. When everything around us seeks to silence our voices and erase our people, we remain steadfast. We are resilient.

This past year, we were not only here — we thrived, standing strong in service to our community. This resilience is only possible because of a decade of established organizing and your unwavering support.

This year, you gathered in unprecedented numbers to honor our shared heritage and advocate for justice and freedom in Palestine. From the largest-ever PACC Conference, titled The Future is Palestine, which

brought together over 250 attendees over four transformative days, to the remarkable Palestine Day on Palestine Way celebration that welcomed over 10,000 people from across the tri-state area and beyond, your

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PACC support amplified our collective voice for freedom and equity. We hosted our 4th annual Palestine Week, a week-long series of impactful events, and organized a powerful Community Healing and Empowerment Event.

These moments, and so many more, are a testament to the strength of this community. For a full look at your year’s achievements, we encourage you to explore the rest of the report.

Beyond events, your efforts strengthened every part of our mission. In 2024, PBS highlighted PACC in a documentary, amplifying Palestinian voices and sharing your stories with a national audience. In an election year marked by challenges, you mobilized and ensured our community’s voices were heard, becoming a force for civic engagement. You extended your compassion across borders, showing up for Gaza, particularly the students, where you welcomed several students across the country and equipped them with everything they needed to thrive in a new place.

You also helped transform PACC into an even stronger sanctuary for our community. Through your generosity, the backyard was renovated into a welcoming space for families to gather, celebrate, and connect. The community garden was relaunched, offering a vibrant symbol of resilience and growth—a reflection of your determination to keep our roots alive and thriving.

This year, your belief in PACC’s mission to empower individuals and preserve Palestinian heritage shone brightly. From cultural celebrations to advocacy, from mutual aid to educational programs, every step forward was fueled by your unwavering support. Together, you continue to prove that empowering individuals truly empowers the community, bringing us closer to a world of equity, freedom, and liberation for all.

As we look toward 2025 and the next decade of PACC, the work ahead remains critical. Your support makes everything possible. It fuels efforts to preserve Palestinian heritage, create opportunities for growth, and advocate for a free Palestine. Your continued commitment will determine the strength and impact of the next chapter of this journey.

In 2024, we proudly celebrated 10 years of PACC. This milestone underscores the vital importance of building and sustaining institutions that not only empower us and amplify our voices but also serve as unshakable pillars of resilience and resistance, preserving our heritage and ensuring our legacy endures for generations to come. On behalf of PACC, thank you for standing with us through it all. Your unwavering belief in our mission inspires everything we do, and we are honored to walk this path with you. Here’s to another 10, 20, 30 years of resilience, growth, and hope—together.

Rania Mustafa

Executive Director

Diab A Mustafa

President of the Board of Directors

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Annual Report 2024

Your Impact Workshops & Events 14 Community Workshops 15 Community Events 7 Rallies/Protests 11 Brunches 6 Reclaiming Roots Series 7 Voices from Palestine Series 12 External Workshops Provided 6 Town Halls 7 Outreach/Tablings 6 Book Club Sessions

Publications & Campaigns 4 issues of Falastin Magazine 50+ Palestine Education Marketing Campaigns

Health & Advocacy 3 Blood Drives 1 Student Activism Convening 2 Advocacy and Civic Engagement Cohorts

Civic Engagement & Election Efforts 17,800+ Interactions: (calls, texts, pledge cards, social media campaigns) 90 Phone Banking Volunteers 30 Phone Banking Training Sessions 11 Legislative Meetings

Programs & Leadership Development Seasonal Programs 138 Participants in Winter Session 72 Participants in Fall Session 84 Participants in Summer Session 111 Participants in Spring Session Ali Institute Leadership Program: 8 sessions

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Media Coverage 90+ Media Coverage/ Interviews

45 Statements Released

PACC

Lamia Abdallah “One of my first summers teaching in PACC Summer Fun, just being able to be around the community—with the staff at PACC and the children—and teaching them about Palestine, hope, resilience, and the Palestinian struggle, was such an honor. I definitely think it was my favorite moment here.”

Hala Elsamna & Sufian Mahmoud “We started a health fair back when we were still dental students, and it has only grown over the years. I think that was back in 2016, and now it’s 2024. We were still students at that point, graduating in 2019, and we continue to contribute. I have very fond memories of that health fair, and it grew to become the PACC Street Festival, which now closes down all of Main Street. It initially started with that health fair. It’s great to see how far we’ve come, and that’s just one small example of where we started versus where we are now.”

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Annual Report 2024

2014

10 Years of PACC: A Decade of Community, Culture, and Commitment

Laying the Foundation

PACC was officially registered as a nonprofit on April 2nd, marking the start of its journey. This inaugural year set the groundwork, with strategic leadership in place by hiring our first Executive Director and the launch of initial programming including Dabka and tutoring.

2015

Strengthening Community Times

As we celebrate 10 years of milestones, we honor the strength, passion, and generosity of you— our community. Your unwavering support has been the backbone of everything PACC has achieved, empowering us to uplift not only our local Palestinian community but also families abroad. Through your involvement, we’ve provided vital resources, hosted cultural celebrations, and amplified Palestinian pride worldwide.

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In 2015, we hosted our first PACC Day, bringing together over one thousand community members to celebrate our diversity and talent. This year also marked the launch of cornerstone programs, including the first Holding Onto Palestinian Existence (HOPE) class, a structured Palestine course for youth, our inaugural flag-raising ceremony, and the PACC Summer Fun program. These initiatives became foundational to our mission, and PACC also proudly became a member of the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC).

2016

Deepening Connections

This year saw our first community needs analysis to better understand and serve our members. We launched Falastin, our youth led and Palestine centered literary magazine that showcases international artists and writers, bridging our diaspora and people on the ground in a creative platform.

We also secured the PACC parking lot to enhance accessibility.

PACC

2017

Building A Vision With a newly renovated facility and our first threeyear strategic plan, PACC began its transformational journey. We also launched the Homeland Project, focusing on strengthening cultural connections.

2018

Amplifying Impact Our inaugural Gala set the stage for elevated fundraising and donor recognition and we officially launched our civic engagement department to empower community participation and advocacy on local and national issues.

2019

Advocating for Justice in Palestine The first PACC Conference highlighted Palestinian history, culture, and resistance, offering advocacy tools for a free Palestine. This event solidified PACC’s role in fostering education and empowerment. After endorsing Adalah Justice Project’s Freedom is the Future demands, we launched our first Freedom is the Future class. This milestone Palestine education program educates adults from around the world on the Palestinian struggle and its connections to other social justice movements.

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Annual Report 2024

2020

Rising to the Challenge Amid the challenges of 2020, we took a leadership role in the U.S. Census for the Arab community in NJ and spearheaded COVID-19 relief initiatives. Governor Phil Murphy recognized our contributions during the pandemic. Seeing the need for these efforts, we formally established our social services and referral programs to empower our community.

2021

Elevating Our Presence We played a pivotal role in national redistricting efforts, and the city of Paterson officially recognized Palestine Week, which we transformed into a week-long series of events. Key highlights included launching the Palestine Speaks video series, showcasing stories from our community, and rebranding PACC to better reflect our mission and values.

We also transformed our office kitchen into a commercial kitchen, enabling us to expand programming with cooking classes and provide healthy meals for children in our summer program.

2022

Commemorating Heritage

Our community efforts culminated in the historic renaming of a section of Main Street in Paterson to Palestine Way, now a prominent tourist destination. To commemorate this, we hosted the inaugural Palestine Way Street Festival, the largest street festival in our history. We formally established our Palestine Education Department to deepen community learning & pride in Palestinian heritage.

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PACC Standing Strong through Action & Solidarity In 2023, in partnership with the City of Paterson, we facilitated a Sister City agreement with Ramallah and celebrated the renaming of South Paterson to Little Palestine. We premiered PACC’s first-ever documentary, highlighting personal stories of the Nakba and its impact on our community and renovating our outdoor space by building a playground, launching a community garden, and safeguarding the backyard with a fence and leveling the ground. In response to the genocide in Gaza, we mobilized the community with advocacy campaigns and expanded our educational outreach to raise awareness and promote solidarity.

2024

A Decade of Community, Culture, and Commitment Celebrating a decade of resilience, 2024 marks PACC’s 10th anniversary. This year, PACC was featured in a PBS documentary, along with coverage from over 90 other media outlets, highlighting its work and impact. PACC also supported students from Gaza by leading mutual aid efforts to assist them during this time.

By the community, for the community

2023

Support PACC’s Work

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Annual Report 2024

2024 Milestones

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Worked with To Gaza with Love and wrote letters to families from Gaza

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February

January

Launched Palestine Awareness Billboard Campaign with Voice for Humanity

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March

02 Launched Gaza Student Support by collecting donations, helping students settle into their dorms and creating a network of support to ensure their success.

Hosted our largest PACC Conference to Date titled The Future is Palestine and held it over 4 days and in a hybrid model.

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August September

July Held a Children’s press conference during PACC Summer Fun for Gaza

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08

In an effort to preserve Oral History, launched a new social media mini series that focuses on highlighting Palestinian stories from our community.

PACC

Led a “No Eid While Gaza has not Eid” media campaign, gathering and shirts

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Held our annual Palestine Week with 7 events covering topics from advocacy, community, and two flag raisings

June

April May

04 In commemoration of one year of the genocide, hosted a month of action that included our 2nd annual Community Healing event and a United for Palestine Rally

Hosted our 3rd Annual Palestine Day on Palestine Way with over 10,000 attendees making it our largest one yet.

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06 Awarded 8 scholarships to students in our community and launched our first Halema Salamah Gaber Community Impact Scholarship

October

December November

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Organized the community around the November Elections with phone banking and pushed the community to go out to vote

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Annual Report 2024

Making a Difference in 2024 This past year, PACC was honored to support the Gaza Student Initiative, helping up to 20 students from Gaza who were evacuated and began their studies in New York, New Jersey, and even Connecticut and Pennsylvania. With the backing of our community and fundraising efforts, we were able to assist in various ways, from supplying essentials and setting up dorms to coordinating airport pickups and fostering connections as they embarked on their academic journeys. We hosted a welcome dinner for the students at PACC and ensured they arrived at fully stocked dorms, surrounded by friends and a community ready to support them. Additionally, we helped launch a fundraising campaign for one family and facilitated donations for all the students.

As new needs arise, we remain committed to filling those gaps. None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support and generosity of our PACC family.

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PACC

This year, every aspect of PACC’s work was deeply rooted in responding to and advocating against the ongoing genocide in Palestine. While our Palestine Education Department has long been a cornerstone of our efforts, we intentionally expanded this critical advocacy work across all of PACC’s focus areas and operations. Our programs were transformed to amplify the voices of our participants, including a powerful and poignant children’s press conference for Gaza led by the youth in our PACC Summer Fun Program. Through our civic engagement initiatives, we mobilized the Palestinian community to register to vote, engage with elected officials, and ensure that demands for Palestinian rights and a ceasefire remained at the forefront of both local and national politics. Our events shifted focus to prioritize Palestine education, community building, and collective healing, offering solace during what has been an extraordinarily challenging year for our community.

From organizing impactful rallies and protests that united thousands together to champion Palestinian rights, to fostering solidarity and resilience, PACC stood united in its commitment to justice, advocacy, and empowerment.

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Annual Report 2024

Alaa Hamouda “I witnessed how PACC welcomed a Gazan family who came to the United States, a mother who was a student with her two children. I saw how a group of PACC members came together to help this mother by assisting with setting up a new home, enrolling her kids in school, raising funds to cover expenses not covered by the universities, and hosting dinners and lunches to ensure the family felt welcomed. Witnessing this made a huge impact on my life to the point where I realized this is the community I belong to, and this is the community I want to advocate for and be a part of.”

Hassan Elsamna “PACC was always something that I counted on to come and recollect, just be with people like me. It’s kind of hard to live in a world where we are constantly being scrutinized, constantly being demonized in the news. But having that sense of identity, that PACC brings to the community is such a blessing.”

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PACC

THANK YOU Thank you for being part of PACC’s journey in 2024 — your support made our achievements possible. Together, we can continue building a brighter future; join us in empowering our community for years to come.

Thank you to our team of Board, Staff, Volunteers and Donors who have made all our accomplishments in 2024 possible.

This is your community.

This is your legacy.

This is your Palestinian American Community Center.

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388 Lakeview Ave, Clifton NJ 07011 | 973-253-6145 | paccusa.org @paccusa

Palestinian American Community Center