Palestine: Children’s Relief Fund Event

By Susan Schwartz

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) will hold its fourth annual banquet and fundraiser on Saturday evening, October 18th at the Anaheim Hilton in Anaheim, Ca. Titled “Healing Hands”, the keynote speaker for the gala will be Dr. Shibley Telhami, a professor at the University of Maryland. Dr. Telhami has lent his expertise on the Middle East in discussions on NPR, PBS, Amazon.com and the University of Maryland forums, to name but a few venues. He is also a pollster of renown and is affiliated with the campaign of Senator Barak Obama.

Steve Sosebee, the President and CEO of PCRF will be the Master of Ceremonies.

The evening’s program will also honor the life and work of Dr. and Mrs. Musa Nasir, the Co founders of the PCRF with Steve Sosebee in 1991. Currently Dr. Nasir is Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Sue Nasir is Treasurer.

The event will also feature visual presentations of the children who have been helped by the PCRF. Come and see before and after pictures. You will be marvel at the work PCRF has done in essentially giving these young victims the opportunity to live full and productive lives.

Tickets are $100 per person with table sponsorships available at $7000, $5000, and $2500. To purchase a ticket, please telephone: (562) 432-0005.

The PCRF was founded when Dr. Musa Nasir, a dedicated Palestinian activist and humanitarian and Steve Sosebee, a peace activist, connected over the central issue of the suffering of Palestinian children both in the oPt and the Diaspora. And so, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund was born. Since its inception, PCRF’s purview has expanded to include children in need from all Middle Eastern nations.

The PCRF sends medical missions to treat children in country when this is feasible. If this route is not deemed optimum, children are transported at no cost to their families to suitable locations in North America, Western Europe or the Middle East. When a child is treated away from his or her home, a host family is provided. PCRF also trains physicians and other medical personal on site and provides medical supplies and equipment to facilities in Gaza and the West Bank.

Following are but a few examples of the work of the PCRF. Mechanized wheelchairs are provided at no cost to handicapped children and fitted to the child according to his or her needs; eyeglass are provided to children with defective vision; summer camps in the oPt give the area’s youngest victims of war an opportunity to enjoy a carefree summer; a Women’s Empowerment Project teaches women skills that equip them to be wage earners – a necessity in an area where such a large percentage of men have been imprisoned by the Israeli authorities; Emergency Relief Projects provide food and milk to children in ravaged areas such as Gaza, and Palestine’s first and only Pediatric Cardiology ICU unit is operative in Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem through the efforts of PCRF.

Embroidery done by Palestinian women as part of the Women’s Empowerment Project will be available for purchase during the event.

Come and celebrate and learn on October 18th and be a part of one of the world’s most effective and caring charities.

PCRF has been given the highest rating by Charity Navigator. It is a 501(c) organization. More information is available on their web site at: http://www.pcrf.net/

10-43