Here is the first of the informative pre-departure posts...  For those who have expressed interest in learning more about the conflict, the Middle East Research and Information Project has a lovely "primer" that you can read here, and  an interactive timeline starting with the 1948 war can be accessed via conflicthistory.com here.

Here is my crowdrise fundraising progress as well... Between my personal fundraising and crowdrise fundraising for the camp itself, I have raised $70 total... I can only hope that more donations will come from local businesses!!  

No one said it would be easy...

   Whew! In addition to trying to make enough cash to sustain me during my stay in Israel and pay for the super expensive apartment I'll be living in... I'm also trying to raise at least $500 for the camp itself. A recent Facebook post by the camp reads as follows:

   "Friends! To be frank, Project Harmony needs your help now more than ever. We recently found out that we did not receive a major grant, and are facing the possibility of cutting major portions of our budget like camper scholarships, activity supplies, and the guest teachers and trips that make the camp experience so transformative and special for our campers. Please consider contributing on our Crowdrise page."



   What a bummer, not receiving the grant...But I am confident that my community will rise to the occasion and help support the camp! So here we go, St. Petersburg, I hope you're ready... I will be visiting local businesses (and friends!) and asking for donations to help me reach and hopefully EXCEED my $500 goal. Any person who donates $20 or more will get a handmade friendship bracelet with either a peace sign or a puzzle piece (peace by piece, get it?) on it...and any business that donates $100 or more will get their logo on a "sponsors shirt" that I will wear while working at the camp, and I promise to take photos with the kids while wearing the shirt and post it to their Facebook page! Please donate to the camp if you'd like by visiting my Crowdrise page here.... and tell all your friends!