A group of Cordovans raised $719 at a bake sale last month for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Ann Harding – one of the organizers of the Oct. 24 bake sale at St. George’s Episcopal Church – said the goal was to play a small part during “this unprecedented humanitarian crisis.”
“Many people in Cordova have been deeply concerned about the people in Gaza,” she said.
More than 67,000 Palestinian people – 20,000 of them children – have been killed by Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel. The military offensive has also caused a famine in Gaza.
Israel’s lethal response in Gaza have been increasingly scrutinized by world leaders. The United Nations has declared it a genocide.
Harding said local Cordova resident Skye Steritz suggested raising funds for the Sameer Project, which is a Palestinian rapid-response initiative that distributes aid to displaced families along the Gaza Strip.
Harding and Steritz joined forces with Cordova resident Anna Hernandez, who started soliciting interest for baked goods.
“First, I thought this seemed only something that one would do for a local community, but then the idea of the people in Gaza being our far away neighbors popped into my head,” Hernandez said. “Now, I like to think of everyone as that – a faraway neighbor. In this way, a bake sale does not sound too small or not enough.”
Hernandez said she thought the group could raise maybe a few hundred dollars, but Cordovans banding together to raise $719 “exceeded my expectations.”
“If we can help one family or even one person, we will have done something,” she said.
While Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has become politized, Harding said it hasn’t seemed that way in town.
“We didn’t hear any mention of politics both during the planning of the event or the bake sale itself,” she said. “People are people, and we need to look after each other regardless of any political beliefs. Cordova is good at that.”
This is the first bake sale humanitarian fundraiser the trio has organized, but they say they’d like to host additional sales for different groups in need.
“I wasn’t sure if a bake sale would be adequate enough for such an insurmountable need, but regardless of the amount of money to be raised, to care for others is what matters,” Hernandez said. “A bake sale feels like a neighborly thing to do, and the reality is, we are all neighbors in this small world.”
