The organizational effort of the Walk for Children fundraiser to support Palestinian families was an intergenerational one.

“Together, we’ve been working with young people and older people to create this and it’s really wonderful to have that energy of both ages doing this kind of work together,” Phyllis Vecchia, an organizer of the walk, said on Saturday as participants gathered at Owen Park in Vineyard Haven,

The event was organized by Expanding the Conversation, a group that formed after the events of Oct. 7, 2023 to educate people on the violence and conflict occurring in Palestine. It was billed as a solidarity walk and all proceeds will be donated to the Middle East Children’s Alliance to provide aid.

Talia Weingarten opens event with words of inspiration.

Katrina Liu

Talia Weingarten opens event with words of inspiration.

Katrina Liu

According to Ms. Vecchia, who works with many Island preschools, the organizers all felt a personal connection to the theme of the walk.

“I’ve spent my whole life devoted to bringing children joy, so it really deeply affects me how the children are being treated,” she said.

The event opened with music and then a speech from Talia Weingarten, one of the organizers, before walkers began their route through Vineyard Haven.

“Today, we walk for the children of Gaza around the town we call Vineyard Haven on the Island we call Martha’s Vineyard, which is Wampanoag land,” Ms. Weingarten said. “Land that carries its own stories of loss and grief, which also need our attention. Land that now holds us and the communities and families we’ve built on it. Communities and families who are wrestling with what it means to heal our broken world in the ways we can and to generate hope instead of despair.”

Katie Ruppel said that she was walking for the children in Gaza and all the children of the world who are suffering.

“When there are children in the world who are experiencing such horrors, my heart is shattered, and I think all children deserve food and shelter and parents and playgrounds and safety and stability,” she said.

Maggie Craig held up a sign that read: “Children Over Politics.”

“If it’s a matter of politics that’s preventing you from acknowledging the atrocities, maybe your politics need reexamining, and your moral compass needs awakening,” she said.

Being able to gather as a community to show support was the main reason that Michaela Brown participated in the walk.

“This is one show of solidarity that we as a community can make, so it feels important to show up when that is on offer and to stand with what is true and right,” she said.