St. Thomas More Student Parish is hosting a day of art and music on Saturday, Nov 15 to support Kalamazoo Nonviolent Opponents of War (KNOW) and local refugee families affected by the crisis in Gaza.
The event, organized by Arts in Action—a new nonprofit collective founded by Michael Zutis, music director at St. Thomas More—runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 421 Monroe Street. It features an art fair called "Samoud" (Arabic for perseverance and resilience) and a concert at noon with a suggested $10 donation.
Artists have pledged between 50% and 100% of their proceeds to benefit refugee families. The concert features singer-songwriter Ari Staiger along with musicians Bailey Miller and Jeremy Ruggles.
Sarah James of KNOW describes the urgent need, sharing the story of a double-amputee adolescent boy who lost his entire family in Palestine and now lives in Michigan. "These are the kinds of families we have here in our community that desperately need our help," she says.
KNOW, established over two decades ago and known for their 23-year Sunday vigils downtown, works directly with refugee families in Michigan. Funds raised will go directly to these families or vetted organizations providing resources.
Says James: "One of the biggest pieces of advice I've received in a life of activism and organizing [was] it doesn't have to be big. And we don't have to do something big every day. We just have to do something every day."
This interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
