NuDay

NuDay is a United States-based humanitarian nonprofit established in 2013 to support people affected by the Syrian Revolution and the continuing Syrian crisis. The organization was founded by Nadia Alawa, who had previously organized local fundraising and donation drives for humanitarian causes. After collecting large quantities of clothing, food, medicine, and other supplies for existing aid agencies, Alawa created NuDay to coordinate relief directly and to connect donors in the United States with displaced Syrian families. The organization began as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in February 2013, with volunteers and supporters joining from across New England. Its early work centered on shipping in-kind assistance to northern Syria, including medical supplies, clothing, food, toys, and other necessities. By May 2015, NuDay reported that it had sent 53 shipping containers to conflict-affected areas. Its work also extended beyond emergency distributions. It raised funds to support housing and employment for Syrian refugee widows in Turkey, helped establish schooling for refugee children, and supported unusual but practical livelihood measures, including the delivery of goats to a besieged area near Damascus so families could produce milk for infants. NuDay has worked with Syrian partners and community networks in areas outside the control of the Syrian government and the Islamic State. Aid has moved through Turkey toward the Syrian border, with local partners distributing supplies in northern Syria. The organization has relied heavily on volunteers, community donation points, mosques, churches, clinics, social media, and messaging applications. Its board has been described as consisting almost entirely of women, reflecting a strong emphasis on women’s leadership and on assistance for women-led or otherwise vulnerable households. Although emergency relief remains part of its work, NuDay has increasingly emphasized protection, livelihoods, education, and psychosocial support. These programs are intended to produce more durable benefits by helping women and children secure housing, income, schooling, safety, and emotional support rather than receiving only short-term material assistance. NuDay has particularly focused on displaced families headed by single mothers and families with wounded members. The organization reported that it undertook 480 projects in Syria and Syrian refugee camps in Turkey during 2017, reaching more than 881,400 people. Its public profile also grew through projects such as distributing sleeping bags designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students when other relief organizations declined to handle the distribution, and raising funds for medical treatment and prosthetic arms for Ahmad Alkhalaf, a Syrian child whose letter to United States President Barack Obama attracted public attention. Alawa and Alkhalaf attended the 2016 State of the Union address at the invitation of Representative Seth Moulton. NuDay has received positive nonprofit-transparency and charity-evaluation recognition, including a Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar and a favorable Charity Navigator assessment reported in 2018. Its history also includes a significant compliance matter. In 2023, NuDay Syria pleaded guilty in the United States to three counts involving failure to file export information concerning shipments to Syria. The case involved more than 100 shipments made between 2018 and 2021, with prosecutors stating that destination and valuation information had been misreported in connection with export restrictions and sanctions. In December 2023, the organization received five years of probation and a $25,000 fine. This legal matter is an important part of the organization’s documented history and should be considered alongside its humanitarian activities.

NuDay emerged from grassroots humanitarian fundraising in New England during the opening phase of the Syrian conflict. Nadia Alawa had been collecting donations for humanitarian causes before the Syrian Revolution intensified the need for organized assistance. She assembled clothing, food, medicine, and other supplies for established aid agencies, but the scale of the response led her to establish a dedicated organization. NuDay was founded in February 2013 as a United States 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and by the middle of that year thousands of people across New England had become involved in its work. The organization’s first operating model was based largely on community donations and volunteer logistics. Supporters gathered supplies through religious institutions, clinics, and local networks, while communications and coordination were conducted substantially through Facebook and WhatsApp. Containers were sent toward Turkey, where NuDay personnel and partners moved aid toward the Syrian border. Local Syrian partners—including expatriates, survivors of persecution, and activists—helped distribute assistance in non-government-controlled parts of northern Syria. NuDay did not operate in areas controlled by the Syrian government or the Islamic State, according to descriptions of its activities. By May 2015, NuDay had shipped 53 containers containing medical supplies, clothes, food, toys, and other materials to conflict zones in northern Syria. Its work soon expanded beyond the distribution of donated goods. The organization raised approximately one million dollars for additional interventions described in public accounts, including helping Syrian refugee widows obtain housing and employment in Turkey, opening a school for refugee children, and transporting goats into a besieged area near Damascus so that families could produce milk for babies. NuDay also accepted responsibilities that other organizations had declined, such as distributing sleeping bags developed by MIT students. NuDay’s programs have consistently prioritized women and children. It has focused on displaced households headed by single mothers and on families affected by injury or loss. The organization’s board has been described as almost entirely female, and its public identity has connected emergency assistance with women’s empowerment. Over time, the organization placed increasing emphasis on protection and livelihood programming, seeking to improve families’ ability to remain safe, earn income, secure housing, and recover from displacement. Education and psychosocial support became important parts of this longer-term approach. A notable individual-support campaign concerned Ahmad Alkhalaf, a Syrian boy who drew attention to the refugee crisis after writing to President Barack Obama. NuDay helped raise funds for his medical bills and prosthetic arms. In 2016, Alkhalaf and Alawa attended the State of the Union address at the invitation of Representative Seth Moulton, giving the organization additional public visibility. NuDay reported substantial activity in 2017, when it undertook 480 projects in Syria and in Syrian refugee camps in Turkey, reaching more than 881,400 people. Its work has been presented as a bridge between families and donors in the United States and communities affected by war and displacement in Syria. Recognition from GuideStar and Charity Navigator reflected positive assessments of transparency, engagement, and effectiveness at the time of those evaluations. The organization’s history also includes a major compliance failure. In September 2023, NuDay Syria pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to file export information. The conduct related to more than 100 shipments to Syria between 2018 and 2021. The prosecution stated that the shipments had been reported as destined for Turkey and that the goods had been undervalued by several million dollars, allowing the organization to avoid required reporting in the context of sanctions and export controls. In December 2023, NuDay was sentenced to five years of probation—the maximum probationary term for an organizational defendant—and fined $25,000. The case complicates the organization’s public record: NuDay has documented a substantial humanitarian footprint, but it also incurred serious legal consequences for failures in export compliance.

• 2023

  Guilty plea and sentencing in export-information case

  [1]NuDayen.wikipedia.org

  NuDay Syria pleaded guilty to three export-reporting counts and later received five years of probation and a $25,000 fine.

• 2017

  NuDay reports 480 projects

  [1]NuDayen.wikipedia.org

  The organization reported 480 projects in Syria and Syrian refugee camps in Turkey, benefiting more than 881,400 people.

• 2016

  Medical-support campaign gains national attention

  [1]NuDayen.wikipedia.org

  NuDay helped fund medical care and prosthetic arms for Ahmad Alkhalaf, who later attended the State of the Union with Nadia Alawa.

• 2015

  Early cross-border relief network expands

  [1]NuDayen.wikipedia.org

  By May, NuDay reported sending 53 containers of medical supplies, clothing, food, toys, and related aid to conflict-affected areas in northern Syria.

• 2013

  NuDay is founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit

  [1]NuDayen.wikipedia.org

  Nadia Alawa established NuDay in February 2013 after organizing community fundraising and collecting relief supplies for people affected by the Syrian crisis.

A women-led humanitarian organization combining immediate relief with protection, livelihood, education, and psychosocial programs for Syrian women, children, and displaced families.

• Humanitarian assistance · 2013

  Emergency humanitarian relief

  NuDay collects, ships, and distributes essential goods for displaced and conflict-affected Syrian families. Historical shipments have included clothing, food, medicine, toys, sleeping bags, and other household necessities. Aid has moved through Turkey toward northern Syria and has been distributed with the help of local partners.

• Protection and economic support

  Protection and livelihood programs

  These programs address longer-term vulnerability among displaced families, particularly women-led households and families with wounded members. Activities described in public accounts include support for housing, employment, income generation, and practical household resilience, with the stated aim of helping families move beyond repeated emergency dependence.

• Education and wellbeing

  Education and psychosocial support

  NuDay provides or supports educational and psychosocial programming for Syrian children and families affected by displacement and conflict. The work responds to disrupted schooling, prolonged uncertainty, and the emotional effects of war, and forms part of the organization’s shift toward durable protection and empowerment outcomes.

• Medical aid · 2013

  Medical and mobility assistance

  Medical assistance has included shipments of medical supplies, support for treatment costs, and individual mobility assistance. A publicized campaign helped raise funds for medical bills and prosthetic arms for Ahmad Alkhalaf, a Syrian child affected by the conflict.

• 2023

  Export-reporting and sanctions-compliance case

  NuDay Syria pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to file export information. Prosecutors said that more than 100 shipments to Syria between 2018 and 2021 had been reported as destined for Turkey and that the goods had been undervalued by several million dollars. In December 2023, the organization received five years of probation and a $25,000 fine.

  Source

Read more

• 2015Milk and livelihood support for a besieged community

  Syria

  NuDay funded an effort to bring goats into a besieged area near Damascus so families could produce milk for infants while also receiving a modest livelihood resource.

  Outcome. The project was presented as an example of NuDay combining immediate nutritional assistance with locally sustainable support.

  Source
• 2015MIT-designed sleeping-bag distribution

  Syria

  NuDay undertook distribution of sleeping bags designed by MIT students after other relief organizations declined to handle the project.

  Outcome. The sleeping bags were delivered to people affected by displacement and conflict in Syria.

  Source
• 2015Support for Syrian refugee widows in Turkey

  Turkey

  NuDay raised funds to help Syrian refugee widows obtain housing and work in Turkey, addressing both immediate shelter needs and household income.

  Outcome. The campaign broadened NuDay’s work from commodity relief into livelihood and integration support for refugees.

  Source
• 2015Refugee-children school initiative

  Turkey

  NuDay supported the opening of a school for Syrian refugee children in Turkey.

  Outcome. The initiative provided an education-focused response to displacement and interrupted schooling.

  Source
• 2015Ahmad Alkhalaf medical and prosthetic-support campaign

  United States · Syria

  NuDay raised funds for medical bills and prosthetic arms for Ahmad Alkhalaf, a Syrian child whose letter to Barack Obama brought attention to the refugee crisis.

  Outcome. Alkhalaf and Nadia Alawa attended the 2016 State of the Union after receiving an invitation from Representative Seth Moulton.

  Source

• 2023

  Resolve export-compliance prosecutionOther

  Background

  United States authorities prosecuted NuDay Syria over failures to file export information for shipments to Syria made between 2018 and 2021.

  Action taken

  NuDay Syria pleaded guilty to three counts and accepted a sentence of five years of probation and a $25,000 fine.

  Aftermath

  The case became a significant legal and compliance event in NuDay’s public record.

  Criminal fine. $25,000 (December 2023)

  Source

• 2013

  Create a dedicated organization for Syrian reliefStrategy

  Background

  Nadia Alawa’s community fundraising generated substantial volumes of donated clothing, food, medicine, and other supplies after the Syrian Revolution began.

  Action taken

  She founded NuDay as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to coordinate fundraising, shipping, partnerships, and direct humanitarian programming.

  Aftermath

  The organization developed a cross-border relief network linking New England donors with Syrian communities and refugee populations in Turkey.

  Source

• Broaden the model from emergency relief to protection and livelihoodsStrategy

  Background

  Long-running displacement and insecurity left Syrian women and children exposed to disrupted education, unstable housing, limited income, and psychosocial harm.

  Action taken

  NuDay increasingly emphasized protection, livelihood support, education, and psychosocial programming alongside material aid.

  Aftermath

  The organization positioned its work around longer-term empowerment and resilience rather than short-term distribution alone.

  Source

1. 1NuDayen.wikipedia.org