In the days and weeks leading up to the Flowers for Palestine fundraiser in the Brew on Feb. 19th, students looped yarn over their hooks as their fingers moved rhythmically to craft delicate crocheted roses–each stitch a quiet act of solidarity. The SOAN Society and Yarn Club joined forces to create and sell these roses, raising money for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).
What began as a simple idea has reached across campus, blending artistry with activism and offering students the opportunity to support a cause through their craft. The idea for the fundraiser took root through a conversation between SOAN Society and Yarn Club members, who saw an opportunity to blend creativity with activism. Megan Yarusso, secretary of SOAN Society, and Helena Smith, Yarn Club’s co-president, drew upon club members and others with crocheting skills to turn the idea into reality.
“This was one that was actually able to come to fruition,” Smith said. “Knowing that Yarn Club has access to multiple hands that could do this project, and [that] SOAN Society would be able to give us the startup funds for the project was part of the inspiration behind it.”
Collaboration and teamwork provided the foundation for the fundraiser. Members from both clubs helped plan and organize, and the roses themselves are the product of the dedication of students across campus. Every purchase of a $1 small crocheted pin or a $5 larger rose connects Augustana and its student body to the PCRF and the aid they provide.
The fundraiser is supporting that aid at a significant moment. On Jan. 19, 2025, a ceasefire in Gaza was announced, opening a critical door for humanitarian relief. This important work includes delivering clean food and fresh water to the children of Palestine, who have faced dire conditions without access to aid. Though each rose sold is a drop in the bucket, those drops can add up; and purchasing them isn’t the only way to support the cause.
“There are such small ways you can support our cause,” Sabo said. “You can help by volunteering to make the roses, sitting at our table, or spending a dollar and buying one and putting it on your backpack.”
The groups began selling roses in the Brew on February 19, with plans to continue into March. Besides their association with the month of February, why choose roses? Dr. Çağlar Çetin-Ayşe, professor of sociology and film, explained that the flowers act as symbols.
“Roses do not have an explicit meaning, actually, but they are attaching a meaning,” Çetin-Ayşe said. “They are attaching the meaning of healing.”
Students who feel apprehensive about displaying their support for a politicized cause may find comfort in this symbolism. Buying a rose or a pin or simply donating can be an approachable way to engage in activism without the directness of a picket sign.
“We’re operating post-Valentine’s Day, so if you forgot a gift to give to someone, here you go,” Smith said. “But it’s also just a sweet, practical thing you can have.”
Regardless of the ways that individuals decide to present and interpret their roses, Sabo hopes the symbolism attached to them can reopen discussions and recenter the needs of Palestinian children.
“We felt like ever since the call of the ceasefire, there maybe wasn’t as much attention on the issues anymore,” Sabo said.
To maximize that attention, quantity is the goal. Though sales began on the 19th, students are welcome to continue to crochet and purchase flowers as long as they are available. For those with yarn prowess, rose drop-offs can be made to the Sociology and Anthropology department office in Evald Hall, or at the Brew on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings.
Beyond providing tangible aid to the PCRF, Flowers for Palestine engages the wider student body in action and solidarity. Yarn Club secretary Curtis Baldwin hopes that the success of this fundraiser will spark change on and off-campus.
“Augustana is contained in a little bubble, but we’re going to graduate and go into the world,” Baldwin said. “You don’t have to just sit and let things happen. Even if you don’t want to crochet a bunch of roses, you can still help with what people are working on.”
To Çetin-Ayşe, the fundraiser represents solidarity not only with the children of Palestine, but with each other. As students see more and more handmade roses carried between classes and pinned on backpacks, they become reminders that individual actions can compound into tangible change, one stitch and one dollar at a time.
He also finds it important to keep in mind the reality of small-scale activism too – change is rarely immediate, and rarely total, but that doesn’t imply powerlessness.
“Activism can create energy, but when you don’t see change immediately you may feel discouraged,” Çetin-Ayşe said. “We are members of communities, even ones we are unfamiliar with; maybe we don’t know that we are a part of that community yet.”
This sense of togetherness, even within a small institution like Augustana, can create meaningful connections in unexpected ways. Yarn Club and SOAN society, despite different focuses, have found shared purpose in Flowers for Palestine. For Sabo, part of that purpose is to oppose insular thinking and reignite passions for college activism and global social awareness.
“I don’t see a lot of protests or people speaking about political and social issues much on our campus–or on any college campus anymore,” Sabo said. “I would hope to inspire other clubs to rally people to be educated outside of the classroom setting.”
In an era where the news cycle is constantly shifting national attention, Flowers for Palestine proves that small and creative acts can hold deep meaning. It is a testament to the power of engagement at the smallest scale, in which community members utilize their unique talents. That shared purpose and resilience stitch us together, loop by loop, whether we are across the sea or right next door.
Yarn Club meets Thursdays from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Instagram: @augie_yarnclub
SOAN Society meets every other Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Evald 104
Instagram: @augiesoansociety
