Campaign
Back to School
Backpacks, school supplies and tuition for Palestinian children in the West Bank — mutual aid, organised by bereaved Palestinian and Israeli families together.
The campaign
Filling backpacks with hope and solidarity
Palestinian families in the West Bank are struggling as children prepare to return to school. Each year the Parents Circle runs a Back to School campaign to reach thousands of them.
$35,811 raised so far
of a $33,000 stretch goal
109% of the goal Goal reached
Donate NowThe original goal was met, so the campaign set a stretch goal to reach more children before term starts.
477
Palestinian students helped to date
$25
Fills one backpack for one student
Where it goes
What your gift buys
The 2025 academic year arrives under extreme settler violence, limited access to water, economic despair, and destruction and threats from the Israeli army.
This is a community-led mutual aid campaign, organised by bereaved Palestinians and Israelis together. With your support we can provide backpacks, school supplies and tuition assistance to Palestinian children across the West Bank, including hundreds of orphans from Gaza who are new to the school system.
Why this year is harder
Four pressures on Palestinian families this year, and every one of them reaches the children.
This year has seen the single longest Israeli military operation in the West Bank since the Second Intifada, and it continues today.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who worked in Israel have lost their jobs. Families struggle to afford even the most basic school supplies for their children.
An unprecedented number of orphaned children from Gaza have been relocated to the West Bank. Over 39,000 children have lost one or both parents in Gaza, and many West Bank orphanages have opened their doors to them, as has the education system.
Violence and occupation continue to shape everyday life, and children carry it: rising anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges.
Part of a wider campaign
Eyes on Youth
The Back to School campaign is part of Eyes on Youth, our campaign for the young people who will inherit this conflict — and who are already refusing to hand it on.
Fill one backpack.
$25 puts a bag on one child’s back in the West Bank this term. $75 fills it and pays the tuition.
More ways to give
Every gift is tax-deductible and goes to the families running this work.
EIN 95-4869142
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Donate by check
Payable to American Friends of the Parents Circle – Families Forum, with the campaign name on the memo line.
2248 Broadway #1531, New York, NY 10024
Mailing details -
Gift of stock
Appreciated securities avoid capital gains tax — often letting you give more at the same cost.
DTC 0015 · held at Morgan Stanley
Transfer instructions -
Give monthly
A recurring gift lets the families plan the year ahead. Change or cancel it at any time.
The Sustainers Circle of Hope
Set up monthly giving -
Give through ACH
A direct bank transfer carries no processing fee, so the whole gift reaches the families.
Bank details on request
Bank transfer details
Donor-advised funds, IRA rollovers and legacy gifts are welcome too — email [email protected].
