We’re playing bird bingo to help raise funds to evacuate Maram and her family from Gaza!
Donate any amount to Maram’s GoFundMe and send us a photo of the receipt to receive our bird bingo card. You can play on your own — or join ACAB (Feminist Bird Club, Western MA) at 9am on Sunday, May 5th at Fort River NWR in Hadley, MA, where we’ll fill out our cards together. First we’ll walk a one-mile accessible trail from 9-11am, and then we’ll sit in a shaded gazebo on a pond from 11am-12pm. Join us for the walk, the sit, or both! Anyone who gets bingo is eligible for a beautiful handmade prize.
About the fundraiser: Maram is a 24 year old Arabic and English teacher from Gaza. Due to Israel’s genocidal siege on Gaza, her home has been destroyed, and she and her family are displaced in Rafah in extremely dangerous conditions. She needs to evacuate herself, two siblings, and her parents to Egypt to save their lives. Link to GoFundMe in our linktree.
How does it work?
1.) Make a donation of any amount to Maram’s GoFundMe and send us the receipt via the Bird Bingo registration form. You’ll be eligible to play once you register!
2.) Go birding by yourself, with friends, or with at Fort River NWR on May 5 9am-12pm. 3.) Check off the bingo squares as you make observations. Complete all the squares to get BINGO!
4.) Practice ethical birding–don’t use playback and keep your distance from nests and agitated birds. 5.) Email your completed bingo card to FBC.WMA@gmail.com by 12pm on May 5 to be entered into a raffle for a birdy prize. Multiple chances to win.
6.) Prize winners will be contacted via email!
Meet-up info: Fort River NWR (also known as Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Fort River Division) is located at 69 Moody Bridge Rd. in Hadley, MA. Meet for the walk at 9am in the parking lot near the information sign! Meet for the sit at 11am near the larger covered gazebo off the parking lot, by the pond.
Accessibility: K/N95 masks are required for this event. The trail is made of gravel with raised wooden boardwalks, and is advertised as being “fully accessible.” But depending on weather the trail could have mud, be covered in water, or be uneven from floods, and the boardwalks could be slick. There are benches along the trail, two accessible shaded gazebos along the trail, and two accessible shaded gazebos near the parking lot.