Potted tulips stand ready for a fundraising event to feed people in Gaza. Alex Awad and Randy Speck spent several months planting and growing about 150 to 200 tulips for the second annualTulips and Treats fundraiser sponsored by People for Peace and Justice in Palestine, a local activist group organized in 2025. More than $5,500 was raised to feed starving residents of Gaza from this event last year. Even though the ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas government of Gaza occurred nearly six months ago, Israeli airstrikes have continued and famine is still widespread. Awad says that there is a lot of darkness around. On the other hand, “people are willing to get their hands dirty and plant tulips and buy them to help somebody who is far away,” Awad says, as people around him have shown support by getting and planting tulips. “It is a beautiful thing.” Volunteers at the Valley Covenant Church will also bake cakes and cookies for the event. Proceeds from the tulips and home-baked goodies will go to Christian Mission of Gaza and The Shepherd Society, groups already working in Gaza and the West Bank to feed the hungry and care for the sick and injured.

Tulips and Treats is 9 am to 2 pm Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, at Valley Covenant Church, 3636 West 18th Avenue.