‘Gift It Forward’ Supports 1,500 Beneficiaries

A donation drive is easy to describe. This one is a little different. Dubai’s “Gift It Forward” event on Saturday, May 3, is set up like a free marketplace, so families do not just receive a bag of prepacked goods — they walk through and choose what they actually need. That matters because the whole point is dignity as much as relief, and the scale is not small: organisers say around 1,500 people will benefit this weekend. ### What is happening here? The event is a one-day community marketplace in Dubai aimed at low-income families and mothers, with volunteers and partner groups helping people select essentials at no cost. It is being held at Pakistan Education Academy on May 3, and the format is meant to feel more like shopping than charity distribution. So why does this format matter? Because choice changes the experience. A family with a baby may need diapers first. Another may need clothes, toys, or household goods. A standard donation model often guesses wrong. This one tries to avoid that by letting beneficiaries pick items station by station, which makes the support more practical and a lot more respectful. ### What are people actually getting? The standout number is 156,100 diapers. That is the kind of detail that tells you this is focused on real household strain, especially for mothers with infants. On top of that, the event is distributing toys, clothes, household items, and women’s accessories, all provided free through the drive’s partner network. Who is behind it? The initiative is tied to Dubai Holding and runs in collaboration with Dubai’s Community Development Authority. Volunteers and community organisations are doing a lot of the hands-on work, from sorting goods to guiding families through the space. That mix matters — big institutional backing gives the programme reach, but volunteer participation is what makes the event function on the ground. ### Is this just a one-off weekend event? No — this weekend’s marketplace is one piece of a much bigger 2026 campaign. Dubai Holding said in February that the third edition of “Gift It Forward” would bring together more than 55 partners, collect over 500,000 brand-new items, and reach more than 20,000 beneficiaries through 27 marketplace events across the UAE. So the 1,500-person figure is meaningful, but it is also part of a larger machine already in motion. ### Why is sustainability part of the story? Because the goods are not random leftovers in the usual sense. The programme is built around repurposing surplus inventory from businesses and turning it into useful donations. Basically, it is trying to solve two problems at once — household need and avoidable waste. That is why the initiative keeps getting framed as both social support and circular-economy work. ### Has it already shown results? Yes. Earlier this year, the third season’s Ramadan phase said it delivered support worth more than AED 14 million to over 4,000 Emirati families, along with AED 200,000 in shopping vouchers. That does not prove every marketplace works perfectly, but it does show this is no longer a pilot or a symbolic campaign. ### Bottom line? This is basically a welfare intervention disguised as a store trip — and that is the smart part. Instead of telling families what they should need, “Gift It Forward” lets them decide, while Dubai’s public-private network supplies the inventory and the manpower to make that choice possible.