Matching donations from an anonymous member of the Board of Trustees and the University will fund 14 internships supporting humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza this summer, with contributions from fellow trustees.
The $200,000 initiative, part of the University’s Humanitarian Internship Program, will pay for ten students to work at World Central Kitchen’s D.C. office and four in its Jordan location — barring security constraints — where they will support the organization’s operations and coordinate the distribution of food and humanitarian supplies bound for Gaza. A gift to the Humanitarian Internship Program from an anonymous trustee is supporting the fund, which the University is matching and other Board members are helping supplement, according to a Thursday release.
The donation comes after years of student protests over the war in Gaza, which targeted both GW and the Board for not divesting from companies tied to Israel. Demonstrations directed at the Board have included alleged spray-painted messages at trustees’ homes and protests both during meetings and outside their office.
“This initiative allows our students to apply their knowledge in real-time to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza,” University President Ellen Granberg said in the release. “It will also further strengthen GW’s long-standing legacy of leadership in public service.”
Granberg launched the Humanitarian Internship Program — a University-funded summer program that gives students stipends to intern at humanitarian organizations that can’t otherwise afford to pay interns. Last year, the program used funds from the President’s Fund for Excellence — which Granberg can allocate at her discretion — to support 20 undergraduate and graduate interns at organizations including World Central Kitchen and Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization.
University spokesperson Julia Garbitt said the University is unable to disclose the identity of the donor trustee or further details on the motivations behind the gift, as the terms of the gift’s contract stipulate that the donor remain anonymous.
Garbitt declined to comment on which funding source the University’s match of the donation came from, how many total trustees contributed funds to the initiative or if the $200,000 gift will continue beyond summer 2026.
The release states internships created through the University’s partnership with World Central Kitchen will focus on humanitarian logistics, food security and emergency response tied to Gaza relief initiatives, efforts it said are “close to the hearts of many GW students.”
Many students have long advocated for humanitarian intervention since the start of the war in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, protesting the University’s refusal to divest from companies selling technology and weapons to Israel and visits to D.C. by top Israeli officials, like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In spring 2024, students staged a 13-day pro-Palestinian encampment in University Yard protesting the University’s alleged financial ties to companies that do business with Israel and demanding officials divest from any companies with Israeli ties. Granberg said in May 2024 officials would not commit to financial disclosure or divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Many pro-Palestinian protesters’ criticism has been directed at the Board for not moving to divest from companies tied to Israel. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in September 2024 allegedly spray-painted demands, like “Stop funding genocide” and “Disclose divest now,” on sidewalks and driveways in front of several Board members’ homes, and a group protested outside of the Board’s quarterly meeting later that month. A crowd of about 100 students also protested outside the Board’s office in October to commemorate the second anniversary of the start of the war, chanting “Board of Trustees, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide.”
Garbitt declined to comment on whether campus pro-Palestinian activism or the encampment caused or inspired the initiative’s creation.
Garbitt said opportunities like the Humanitarian Internship Program demonstrate the University’s “long-standing emphasis” on experiential learning, global engagement and service. She added that the faculty-led working groups Granberg and former Provost Chris Bracey formed in summer 2024 in response to campus tensions spurred by the war in Gaza recommended adding opportunities for paid humanitarian internships with an emphasis on Gaza.
“GW is proud to provide students with real-world experiences that address complex global challenges, and we are pleased that, with this support, World Central Kitchen is able to offer additional internship placements for students interested in supporting its aid efforts,” Garbitt said in an email.
The release states officials are also planning a “student-led philanthropy campaign initiative” for later in the spring semester, which will support World Central Kitchen’s mission in Gaza and other areas where they are conducting humanitarian relief. Multiple unspecified student organizations are expected to participate in the initiative, which will build on “recent student-driven impact efforts” that have raised funds for communities affected by conflict, displacement and natural disasters around the world, per the release.
Garbitt declined to disclose which student organizations will be participating in the initiative, what the initiative will look like in practice or when during the spring semester it will take place.
World Central Kitchen’s founder and acclaimed chef José Andrés also partnered with GW in 2023 to launch the Global Food Institute, a program that rolled out a food leadership minor in 2024 and supports and conducts research examining the food system from global, domestic and local perspectives. World Central Kitchen’s operations are currently heavily concentrated in Gaza, but the organization serves dozens of other regions like Haiti, Colombia, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo and southern California in response to wildfires.
Andrés, who delivered the University’s 2014 commencement address, said at a book talk in Lisner Auditorium last April he held himself responsible for the deaths of World Central Kitchen workers in Gaza, at least ten of whom were killed by Israeli airstrikes in April and November 2024, because of his decision to send the organization there for relief efforts.
World Central Kitchen paused on-the-ground operations in Gaza several times throughout 2024 and 2025 due to security concerns but has resumed operations and is now serving 1 million hot meals a day, according to a Feb. 11 release. Students in the initiative will not work directly in Gaza, currently designated a “Do Not Travel” area by the Department of State.
Javier Garcia, the interim CEO of World Central Kitchen, said in the release the organization believes food is a “powerful tool” for hope and humanity in moments of crisis and that students participating in the initiative will build the necessary skills to become humanitarian leaders in the future.
“Through this partnership with GW’s Humanitarian Internship Program, students are not only helping us deliver meals and logistical support to communities in dire need, but they are also gaining the skills and perspective to become the next generation of humanitarian leaders,” Garcia said in the release.
