The Refugee Outreach Collective Humanitas (ROCH) and NMU’s philosophy department are hosting a fundraiser and raffle today from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Jamrich 1322.

The goal of the event is to raise funds for the Aman Project, a humanitarian organization located in Istanbul, Turkey, that supports LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers are in need of assistance said Mlado Ivanovic, an assistant professor in NMU’s philosophy department.

Donations are encouraged but not required to be entered into the raffle, Ivanovic said.

“We wanted to make the drawings accessible for everyone who comes to the event,” Ivanovic said. “Most of the donations are from local people that we know from the general public and also from many of the faculty members.”

Not only can students participate in the raffle for various items like authentic art pieces, electronics, hammocks, books, video games, vinyl and more, but they can also learn how they can support the work that ROCH does with the Aman Project, Ivanovic said.

“The event is designed to be educational for students who come to the event where they can, of course, get information about what we’re really doing, who are our stakeholders, what the target of this project is, the impacts of students’ participation and what it actually allows us to kind of do,” Ivanovic said. “We wanted to do something for the student community at NMU while simultaneously allowing other students to engage with this humanitarian practice to help the Aman Project raise awareness and funds for what we all find a very important cause.”

The lifestyles humans have built benefit from the ongoing conditions of human brutalities, Ivanovic said.

“It’s very important to remember that these kinds of human vulnerabilities that exist today are not accidental, they are a product of human-made choices, historical circumstances and our awareness of what we can do to minimize the impacts of injustice that plague our current world,” Ivanovic said. “That’s why it’s important that NMU facilitates these projects that allow our students to kind of get directly engaged with these issues.”