No Gifts Please
2025

I have historically used November (my birthday month) as a chance to support charitable causes. This year, I will match all donations across 5 efforts evenly from now until the end of the year:

  • Gaza (The Sameer Project) - Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing a severe humanitarian emergency characterized by mass displacement, destruction of infrastructure, food insecurity, and limited access to medical care and clean water. The ongoing genocide and occupation has created widespread suffering and death, with civilians trapped in a territory with severely restricted resources and movement. The Sameer Project is critical towards helping improve limited access many Palestinians have to basic resources and services.

  • Sudan (Sudan Solidarity Collective) - Sudan has been devastated by an armed conflict since 2023 that has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions, and created one of the world's worst ongoing humanitarian crises. The war has destroyed healthcare systems, triggered widespread famine, and left vulnerable populations—especially women and children—facing violence, sexual assault, and extreme poverty with minimal international aid reaching those in need. The SSC is organizing efforts in response to the genocide and war that has devastated the country since 2023.

  • Illinois Immigrant Protection (Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights) - Immigrant communities in Illinois face escalating deportation threats, family separation, and detention through intensified ICE enforcement actions at the direction of the President and others at the federal level. Many immigrants live in fear of losing their homes, jobs, and families due to immigration policies that criminalize their presence, and they often lack access to legal resources or know-your-rights information to protect themselves. The ICIRR has been working to defend immigrant communities from deportation and detention through know-your-rights education, legal support coordination, and community organizing.

  • Protecting Trans folx (Strive Pensacola) - Transgender and gender-nonconforming people face increasing legislative attacks on their rights, healthcare access, and safety, with many states passing laws restricting gender-affirming care, limiting bathroom access, and enabling discrimination. In this hostile climate, trans people experience heightened rates of violence, mental health crises, and economic instability, while having limited access to affirming community spaces and support especially in Florida. Supporting Strive Pensacola means investing in a local space where trans people can access resources, build solidarity, and fight for their right to exist safely and authentically in their community.

  • Congo (Basandja Coalition) - The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has experienced decades of armed conflict that has created a culture of sexual violence used as a weapon of war, leaving women and children traumatized and vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Extreme poverty, limited healthcare and education access, and ongoing instability leave this population facing compounded vulnerabilities with minimal resources for recovery and support. The Basandja Coalition provides direct aid, healthcare access, education support, and advocacy work addressing sexual violence and trafficking.

Please consider donating using the field below which helps me track the progress of this fundraiser!

If you can’t donate/want to do more:

You can definitely make a meaningful difference. Many of these movements rely on volunteer power, community participation, and distributed support. I’m not going to advocate that you just go and vote for the change you want, go do something tangible outside of your normal life. This might mean:

Getting involved locally. Connect with mutual aid networks or community defense organizations in your area. You might volunteer with food banks, participate in community care projects, join tenant unions or worker organizing, or help with know-your-rights workshops in immigrant communities. Local work builds the infrastructure these national efforts depend on.

Amplifying work. Share their information on social media, talk about these causes with people in your networks, and help connect them with others who might donate or volunteer. Visibility and sustained attention matter, especially for movements that don't receive mainstream media coverage.

Building skills and knowledge. Learn about the issues these organizations are fighting—read their materials, listen to affected communities, attend educational events or webinars. Many organizations offer free training on topics like legal rights, community defense, or organizing. This knowledge helps you be a better ally and community member.

Showing up physically. Attend protests, vigils, demonstrations, or community meetings. Participate in action oriented letter-writing campaigns, call elected officials, or sign petitions. Physical presence and collective action demonstrate solidarity and build momentum.

Practicing mutual aid in your own sphere. Care for people around you directly. Help a neighbor, support a friend facing hardship, participate in community meal shares, or organize with others facing similar challenges. These practices strengthen community resilience from the ground up.

Every form of engagement matters, and movements are built through many different kinds of contribution.