Central Square pop-up supports families in Gaza
Since mid-August, the pop-up has generated around $500 to $1,000 each week for Gazans
Sabine Chu–The Tech
Sabine Chu–The Tech
Sabine Chu–The Tech
Since mid-August, Cambridge local Mary Anne Fox has sold clothes, shoes, books, and household items at her “Thrift4Gaza” pop-up in Central Square every weekend. According to Fox, the proceeds from sales after expenses, which amount to around $500 to $1,000 each week, go directly to individuals, families, and micro non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Gaza.
Even before the pop-up, Fox had been using her own income to support Gazan residents for several years. Still, she found herself “frustrated with doing nothing,” stating that individual aid “never feels like enough.” Following the lead of a friend who was selling art to raise funds for Gaza, Fox decided to sell items she had already meant to donate on a patio in Central Square.
Although Fox initially only set out a couple flyers advertising the pop-up, she found the reaction to be “truly overwhelming.” She saw that people were often thrilled to contribute to a humanitarian cause through donations or purchases. A customer once bought a dish, then donated $1,000; another brought a bottle of wine and a card with their donation.
The effort has since expanded, now including several paid staff. Fox’s business partner, who is from Gaza, helps to locate and verify fundraisers. In addition, the pop-up now has around a dozen volunteers. Some live in Cambridge, but others come from Brookline, Concord, or other parts of the greater Boston area to help Fox each weekend.
Fox is also involved with Cambridge for Palestine, a local advocacy group that has advertised the pop-up on social media and helped move and set up items. Dan Totten, speaking on behalf of Cambridge for Palestine, called aid “a desperately needed lifeline for many families” and praised Thrift4Gaza’s “incredible work.”
Work begins at around 7 a.m. for Fox, who states that the “set-up and break-down are the most challenging component[s]” of the pop-up. Volunteers help bring items from a nearby storage item, set up tables, and later interact with customers once everything is in place.
On Saturday, Oct. 25, The Tech visited the pop-up to interview Fox, her staff and volunteers, and customers. For the first time, they were operating out of the patio of Darling, a bar on the stretch of Massachusetts Avenue between Sidney and Brookline St. In the past, the pop-up was located five storefronts down in front of MoreFun Café. Fox said that nearby stores were fine with the pop-up, as the increase in foot traffic generated business for everyone.
However, Fox found out that the MoreFun patio is owned by the MIT Management Company (MITIMCo). Although Central Square is outside MIT’s official campus, MITIMCo owns the University Park property, which encompasses several buildings in the area. Upon learning this fact, Fox decided to relocate so as not to violate any rules.
Fox said that Darling’s proprietors welcomed the pop-up, which has also been granted permission to operate out of the Cambridge Community Center on Nov. 9 and 23. Neither MITIMCo nor Darling has responded to The Tech’s request for comment as of publication.
The pop-up’s wares, mostly sourced from donations and the Internet, are wide-ranging and tend to sell for around $15 per purchase. They include Palestine-themed goods, including pins, wristbands, and keffiyehs, the traditional Middle Eastern headscarf that has become a symbol of pro-Palestinian activism.
Skylar Augusta Jakoujǒvic, a staff member at the pop-up, noted that she also embroiders keffiyehs, which increases the item’s price from $50 to $75. In addition, Jakoujǒvic teaches participants the craft and history of tatreez, a traditional Palestinian embroidery technique, at the Palestinian café and restaurant Andala Coffee House every week in Central Square.
Ruth Economou has volunteered at the pop-up every Saturday morning for the past month and a half. In the past, she often felt “powerless and anguished about what’s happening” in Gaza, and volunteering at the pop-up is a “simple and direct” way to help. Still, Economou believes that “it’s not enough.”
As the volunteers finished setting up, one passerby stood outside the pop-up and gave them a round of applause. “Thank you, good job!” the passerby exclaimed.
Fox has committed to holding pop-ups through at least the end of the year. She emphasized that the pop-up has allowed customers to turn “extra stuff into food, tents, and medicine” as well as their grief and anger into positive action. In an email, she told The Tech that she is currently working to create a larger nonprofit that will aid people affected by displacement globally; Thrift4Gaza would be a part of this effort.
Customers appreciated the cause and range of items at the pop-up. Emily Vu was “just walking down” and noticed the tables. She said that she hoped to “help in any way,” even though she believed she couldn’t do “as much as [she wanted] to.”
Shannon Riley and Sarah Mullen were searching for a brunch place when they came across the pop-up, hoping to find Halloween costumes. Mullen said that it was “nice to find something that aligns with my values.”
Ahmad Elrefaie and his wife, Nada Mohamed, stopped by the pop-up with Souha Saleh, Elrefaie’s mother. “Anytime I see anything to do with Palestine, I’ll stop,” stated Elrefaie, a Palestinian-American. The couple, who lives in upstate New York, said that the urban environment of Cambridge is much more conducive to organic pop-up efforts than their area.
Before Oct. 25, Saleh, who lives in North Attleboro, had never been to the Gaza pop-up. Echoing her son’s words, Saleh said that she notices “anything with Palestine” and does “everything [she] can” to advocate for her homeland. “It’s amazing,” Saleh said when describing the pop-up, adding that raising awareness for the Palestinian cause is “what [Gazans] need.”