Party with a Purpose

Today I attended an afternoon lunch & fundraiser for Syrian refugees, organised by the indefatigable and boundlessly compassionate Saima Qureshi, in her stunning Melbourne home. 
In addition to a mother of all banquets, at this lunch, a few of the guests (myself included) shared insights into the status quo for refugees seeking asylum in the west, the conditions of refugee camps, and the capacity for activism at a local level to achieve global impact. 
This was likely the finest party with a ‘purpose’ I’ve attended in years. Everyone attending volunteered a contribution towards the cause, amassing close to $5K in proceeds – with an additional $4-5K anticipated from donations by those unable to attend but who had pledged. That’s almost $10,000 from one lunch! 
Kudos to Saima for demonstrating that an individual gesture to make change has a ripple effect; after today’s event, the momentum to participate and contribute to charity ventures has been ignited. So many ideas. So much capacity. So many causes. What a perfect Sunday spent in the company of beautiful souls with vision and heart #feelingblesssed #feellinginspired #partywithpurpose #syrianrefugees