It takes a lot of money to survive in Gaza.
Hi. My name is Lester Nelson, and I’m raising money for my dear friends living in Gaza. I’d love to tell you about them.
Over the summer, I mowed lawns as a side hustle every week, and sent all the money I raised from doing that to the families in Gaza I’ve grown to love and consider members of my own family. But I live in Alaska, and summer is over, meaning that means of earning money for them has dried up.
So I come to you, offering you amazing cookies in return for donations of $50 or more.
The cookies I send out will be an ever-changing, depending on ingredients I have on hand. But I promise you this: they’ll all be well worth the money.
To see what cookies I’m sending out at any time, follow me @rootypootsbakes on Instagram, and join the “Cookies for Gaza” broadcast channel.
How to get a dozen incredible cookies:
Step one:
Make a donation of $50 or more, either to all three families, or to the individual fundraising pages of any of the three families, listed further down this page.
Take a screenshot of your donation.
Due to the perishable nature of cookies, as well as high shipping costs and tariffs, this offer is available to US residents only.
Step Two:
Follow @rootypootsbakes on Instagram and send a DM with the screenshot of your donation, along with your name and shipping address.
Don’t have Instagram? Email me the info instead!
Be patient, please, as I’m one person baking very elaborate, labor-intensive cookies, often containing ingredients I can only find online. Due to this fact, there’s likely to be a backlog and it may sometimes be impossible to get the cookies currently listed, as ingredients are in limited supply. If that happens, I’ll present you with what my next batches of cookies will be and let you choose from them, when I get nearer to fulfilling your order.
Step THREE:
When the time comes, I will send you a link to pay me only the shipping costs for the cookies. A dozen cookies will be sent out in a medium-sized flat rate USPS package at whatever the current rate is.
Abdullah
Abdullah was my first friend I made in Gaza. He’s a kind and loyal friend. When my father was slowly dying last year, he checked in several times a week to ask how he’s doing and offer his prayers—despite the fact that Abdullah himself was experiencing the daily nightmares and atrocities inflicted on Gaza. He’s the kind of friend who lives by the tenet of tell people you love them, and tell them often.
He lives with his wife—who, at the time of this writing, is pregnant with their first child—in the remains of a house that’s been heavily shelled by Israeli artillery.
Amir
Amir is just 17 years old, and lives with his family in a tent in the Khan Yunis refugee camp.
At his young age, he’s already found himself having to be his family’s main support system, tasked with finding food and water and raising money to support their needs.
He’s gone through so much, yet he still smiles brightly.
He wants to go to school to become an engineer so he can help rebuild Gaza.
Individual donations to Amir’s family can be made at his GoFundMe.
Ahmed
Ahmed and his siblings live with their mother in a tent in the same Khan Yunis refugee camp as Amir. His dad has been held hostage in an Israeli prison for the past two years, and so Ahmed has found himself thrust into the position of becoming their family’s main supporter. He recently turned 16.
Like Amir, he also wants to go to school to become an engineer and help rebuild Gaza. He also needs eye surgery. Both will require evacuation.
Individual donations to Ahmed’s family can be made at his GoFundMe.