Saturday, Oct. 1: Refugee Mental Health Unites Bay Area Runners
FOR PLANNING PURPOSES: Saturday, October 1, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT: Manisha Sunil, West End Strategy Team
msunil@westendstrategy.com; (202) 417-0171
Saturday, Oct. 1: Refugee Mental Health Unites Bay Area Runners
Hundreds expected to participate in the Bay Area race at Coyote Point Park
SAN MATEO, California – On Saturday, October 1, 2022, at 8:00 am PST, hundreds will gather at San Mateo’s Coyote Point Park to support mental health funding for Palestine refugees as part of UNRWA USA’s Bay Area Gaza 5K.
An estimated two in three children in the Gaza Strip face acute mental health challenges caused by trauma as a result of the May 2021 Israeli military assault on Gaza, 16 years of air, land, and sea blockade, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bay Area community members are joining together to support children and youth in Gaza as part of a rising wave of activism in Silicon Valley supporting Palestinian human rights.
Funds raised for the Gaza 5K will go toward the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the only agency with a UN mandate to provide critical social services in the Gaza Strip, to ensure that thousands of children receive the care they need to be healthy and reach their full potential.
Specifically, proceeds will support the salaries of specialized UNRWA mental health counselors - recruited from the local refugee population - to provide individual and targeted group counseling to Palestine refugees. These counselors also organize public community awareness campaigns on mental health issues and provide guidance on coping mechanisms.
For a decade, UNRWA USA has held annual 5K events supporting mental health in Gaza in Washington DC, New York City, and other major American cities.
Beyond mental health, UNRWA provides education, health care, relief and social services, microfinance, and emergency assistance to a population that has grown to more than five million Palestine refugees across the Gaza Strip, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.
The event is open to the media, and interview opportunities are welcome. Please contact Laila Mokhiber, Director of Communications, at laila@unrwausa.org or (202) 223-3767 or Manisha Sunil at msunil@westendstrategy.com or (202) 417-0171 for more information.
WHAT: 2022 Bay Area Gaza 5K
WHEN: Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 8 a.m. PST
WHERE: Coyote Point Park, 1701 Coyote Point Dr, San Mateo, CA 94401
WHO: UNRWA USA and supporters, including:
Mara Kronenfeld, Executive Director, UNRWA USA
Laila Mokhiber, Director of Communications, UNRWA USA
Amal Khatib, Director of UNRWA Affairs, UNRWA Gaza Field Office
Kaan Cetinturk, CIO & Director of Information Management and Technology, UNRWA
Competitive awards will be given to the top fundraisers and top female and male runners in the following age categories: 1-12, 13-19, 20-39, 40-59, and 60+.
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