Mel | Writer & Comms Specialist

@melleesmith.com

1365 Followers 342 Following

(she/her) 🇺🇸 in 🇮🇪 Writer, lover, and survivor first and foremost Currently grieving & low-spoons Co-founder / jr web dev @gazasupporthub.com Creative writing @melliferamuses.com

Social media graphic with callouts in black, red, white, and green. An image of rocks painted with pro-Palestinian slogans takes up most of the graphic. The text reads: "Bearing Witness Together: An Event Commemorating Those Killed in Gaza. Witness Stone Painting — Honour Roll — Leaflets — March on The Promenade. Please join us at Tramore Beach as we honour Gaza's martyrs through art & action. Supplies provided. WHEN: Sunday 12 July, 3-7 pm (march on Promenade at 6 pm) WHERE: Old Lifeguard Hut, Promenade, Tramore Beach, Co. Waterford, X91FY96 Facebook: IPSC South East Email: southeast@ipsc.ie Instagram: @ipscse X: IPSCSouthEast"
Mel Lee-Smith, PR Officer at Top of the City Garden in Waterford, sitting on a raised wooden bench at the garden holding a glass of sweet tea. Behind her is a stone wall with a yellow ceramic pot set into a break in the stones. Greenery covers both top corners of the photo as well as the bottom left corner.
Waterford Walls mural of boxer Wasim Abusal who competed at the Paris Olympics in 2024 and visited Waterford in 2025.
Google review of Waterford Specsavers. It reads: "After 13 years of being a loyal Specsavers customer, I will never do business with them again after how I was spoken to today by an associate at the Waterford store. Had exam and ordered 2-for-1 glasses about a month ago. 2 days after picking them up, I lost my prescription glasses in a gardening incident where they were irretrievable. Back in I went to order another pair after receiving a Golden Ticket for 50% off. On the day I ordered, I was told I'd get: 2 pairs of glasses for 1 WITH both the 50% off AND my remaining PSRI. I asked that associate *multiple times* if she was sure this was correct? As it sounded too good to be true. She assured me it was. Went in today to pick up my glasses. Only 1 pair presented. So told them I was expecting another pair and was pulled over to a desk. This associate says, no, you can't combine the Golden Ticket and 2 for 1. I said, okay, but that's not what I was told when I ordered. And then she asks me (word for word): "What do you think you were paying 54 Euro for, I wonder?" Certainly not to be spoken to or treated like a child. 54 Euro (on top of the 200+ I paid the first time) is NOT an insignificant amount of money! Not only was her question classist, but this associate also served me the first time and KNEW I am low income. I told her multiple times I could hardly afford that first exam and glasses, let alone the replacement pair! My dad died 3 months ago and I'm in so much debt from his funeral that I can barely afford to look after my own health. I had to make major financial adjustments just to afford the first exam. Getting out of the house while you're grieving to run errands like these is hard enough, let alone when you're treated unkindly the way I was today (I had a panic attack after this encounter). When a customer is told they'll receive something for their money spent and asks multiple times if this is really the case, it's not fair to treat them like *t…
Irish football supporters stating: "I know right from wrong." / "6 points or 75,000 lives?" / "I've got a heart." / "Ireland has an opportunity to stand up for what is right." / "We are not willing to sportswash genocide." / "Stop the game."
White woman with short black hair wearing a rainbow shirt and matching eyeshadow. She's also wearing steel sword earrings and posing in front of a beige wall.
ProTruth SC poster raising awareness of a SC House subcommittee hearing regarding the S.508 bill. The background is an image of the Ben Tillman statue. Overlaid on a translucent white background, the image text reads: "PACK THE HEARING / Defend Historical Truth. S. 508 prohibits any updates to historical monuments, including updates to improve historical accuracy. A House subcommittee will discuss the bill Tuesday, April 28, at 10 AM in Blatt Room 110." Following the text is ProTruth SC's logo.
Greeting card with a print by Lisa Keane. It shows Thirty Three the Mall in Waterford, Ireland, a three-story building painted yellow with a red door. The Irish and Palestinian flags are hung up on the building. In the background are 2 apartment buildings, 1 yellow and 1 brown.
Black-and-white selfie of Mel at the age of 15. On the palm of her left hand, she's written "Love Is the Movement", the original tagline of TWLOHA, in permanent marker. Her hand obscures the lower half of her face, showing only her eyes.
A man holding a blue fishing rod in his right hand and a small hooked fish on a line in his left. He's wearing a dark blue tshirt, blue jeans, and a camo hat. He's standing on a fishing pier at a lake with evergreens in the background on a cloudy day.
The homepage of gazasupporthub.com. The top banner is black with white text and green buttons. Following the navigation bar is the body text of the homepage, which reads: "Gaza Support Hub is a volunteer, citizen-led effort to support and uplift the people of Palestine. In addition to the genocide inflicted upon them, Palestinians are being silenced and suppressed on social media. Even after verifying their accounts, many have been permanently banned and forced to create new accounts and start fresh. All the major social media players are complicit in the censorship of Palestinian voices and those who support them. This website is currently under construction. It will include mutual aid campaigns and stories of Palestinian families, as well as an honor roll and obituary section where families can honor their loved ones properly. Most importantly, once a fundraising campaign is vetted and added to the Gaza Support Hub, it won't be removed. Even if your social media accounts are removed, banned, or suppressed, your fundraiser will still be here, and we'll still be working to get it in front of as many people as we can." Following the main paragraph is 8 cards laid out in equal rows. Each shows the name and photo of a Palestinian family in need, including (in order): Belal, Hana, Motaz, Ahmed, Shireen, Alaa, Ruaa, and Mona.
Person holding a handwritten sign while standing outdoors. The sign is divided into 4 parts and reads, "I'm marching for: Ashraf & Nael, Zainab & Jana, Amir & Nael, Belal & Toqa, Khaled & Malek, Safa & Samah, Auntie Fatima, Cousins Fatima & Nael: Shaat Family. Mohammed, Hana & Sana, Yasser & Wassim, Ahmed & Qusay, Mustafa, Dala: Al-Lulu Family. Ahmed & Asma, Yapub & Rana, Maram & Aya, Karam & Ramda, Mohammed, Amale: Aziz Family. Ruaa & Family, Alaa & Family, Mona & Family, Motaz & Family, Shireen & Family. Support them @ www.gazasupporthub.com"
Screenshot of the "Creativity Prompt from the Future" page on the Joyful Creators Club website. It shows a cartoon icon of a goddess wearing a toga and headpiece, holding a heart-shaped wand. Also shows clickable, colorful tiles for each prompt theme.
Notion table of article titles next to a formula that automatically generates HTML code for that article.
Text message between Ahmad in Palestine and Mel in Ireland. Mel's first text reads, "I am here for you today and praying for the ceasefire to take effect as soon as possible 🙏". Ahmed's reply reads, "God willing, my friend. Thank you for everything you have done for us in the past. I wish you success and prosperity always, my friend, and I hope that we will meet one day." Ahmed's next text reads, "I hope they don't forget him in the present, because my life is non-existent, my friend, and we are about to enter winter."
Bars of watermelon soap at Lush Cosmetics. The sign includes info about Lush’s donation scheme to medical aid in Gaza.
Mel Lee-Smith's Bluesky cover image, profile photo, and username. This screenshot from her profile also shows the "Edit profile" button on the right side. Mel's banner has a light blue background, blue and pink coffee cup graphic, and text that reads "@melleesmith.com, Writer | Amateur Web Dev | Marketing Specialist"
Stylized pink graphic promoting a birthday fundraiser for Hana Al-Lulu, in partnership with Mel Lee-Smith. Circle portraits of Hana and Mel with thick pink borders take up most of the image. Hana's photo at the top shows her wearing a head covering with black frame glasses perched on top. Mel has short black hair and is wearing blue eyeshadow with matching glasses and a black blouse. The text reads, "Birthday fundraiser for Hana & family in Gaza. Celebrate Mel & Hana's birthday week 10-16 August by donating to Hana's fundraiser!"
Headshot of Mel Lee-Smith, freelance writer and social justice advocate. She has short, black curly hair. She's wearing blue eyeshadow with blue and black glasses, as well as a black sheer blouse with blue and pink embroidered flowers. Her chin is resting on her left hand.
Screenshot of the Gaza Support Hub website homepage. The navigation bar is black and includes the site title as well as links to Home, Campaigns, and FAQs. The text reads: Gaza Support Hub is a volunteer, citizen-led effort to support and uplift the people of Palestine. On top of the genocide inflicted upon them, Gazans and Palestinians are being silenced and suppressed on social media. Meta, X, Microsoft, and Bluesky are all complicit in the censorship of Palestinian voices and those who support them. Bluesky's moderation policies, in particular, have seen hundreds of Palestinian accounts banned and permanently deleted. Palestinians rely on Bluesky — a channel which has billed itself as "the good place" compared to other platforms — to raise money for food and medicine. Gaza Support Hub was built in direct response to Bluesky's willful ignorance of an open letter (signed by thousands of users, including us) urging them to revise their harmful policies. This website is currently under construction. Our goal is to offer a space of general support. It will include mutual aid campaigns and stories of Palestinian families, as well as an honor roll and obituary section where families can honor their loved ones properly. Most importantly, once a fundraising campaign is vetted and added to the Gaza Support Hub, it won't be removed. Even if Bluesky removes your account, your fundraiser will still be here, and we'll still be working to get it in front of as many people as we can." Following the text is "Campaigns" with cards showing Palestinian families in need.
Screenshot of a Facebook post from South Carolina Senator Tom Fernandez, dated June 15, 2025. The caption of the post reads, 'The "love letters" from the liberal left.' Following that is a collage of 4 screenshots in dark mode of emails sent to Tom. The emails are censored in this post, but Tom left them uncensored in the original.
A mural on a rock overlooking Waterford City in Ireland. The mural depicts the Irish tricolour and the Palestinian national flag. White text on a black background reads: "Saoirse don Phailistín", which means "Liberation for Palestine" in the Irish language.
Two pride flags hanging up on the backdrop of a theater stage
A gray-haired man with a goatee wearing a gray suit and brown shoes posing in his front yard for a photo, a few steps in front of a white car.
Screenshot of the poem "Fuck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying" by Noor Hindi from the Poetry Foundation website. Transcription of the screenshot: "Fuck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying" By Noor Hindi Colonizers write about flowers. I tell you about children throwing rocks at Israeli tanks seconds before becoming daisies. I want to be like those poets who care about the moon. Palestinians don’t see the moon from jail cells and prisons. It’s so beautiful, the moon. They’re so beautiful, the flowers. I pick flowers for my dead father when I’m sad. He watches Al Jazeera all day. I wish Jessica would stop texting me Happy Ramadan. I know I’m American because when I walk into a room something dies. Metaphors about death are for poets who think ghosts care about sound. When I die, I promise to haunt you forever. One day, I’ll write about the flowers like we own them."
No-sound video clip of Mel Lee-Smith clicking around on her writing and portfolio website. She briefly opens each tab on her homepage to showcase her web development skills and growth.
A5 sized ring binder planner with a colorful garden theme. Decorated with colorful letter stickers that say "The Plannter".
Portrait of Henry Laurens, human trafficker of enslaved people and US politician. Painted in 1781 during Laurens' imprisonment in the Tower of London. Laurens is wearing a black robe with white lace cuffs and cravat. He is holding a letter. He has white hair pulled back into a ponytail with curled sides. He poses in front of a red curtain.
Image description: The Charles H. Duckett House in Laurens, South Carolina. This white L-shaped house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The wrap-around porch includes a carved front door and beams. The small sign out front reads, in capitalized letters: "Charles H. Duckett House. Built in 1895. Museum and community action center. Sponsored by: McDaniel Enterprises." Image credit: Bill Fitzpatrick, 2012, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sourced from Wikimedia Commons. Use is for educational purposes only.
Brown, red, and white antique themed collage
Black and white portrait of South Carolina governor and SC Supreme Court Chief Justice William Dunlap Simpson. He is wearing a black suit and tie, and has a long beard with combed, parted hair.
Promotional flyer for Mel Lee-Smith's talk at California Writers' Club Berkeley on January 19, 2025. Text reads: "I've Got a Notion: Top Productivity Apps for Creative Writers with guest speaker Mel Lee-Smith. California Writers' Club Berkeley, Sunday, January 19, 2025, 1-3 PM PST via Zoom. Book your ticket at cwc-berkeley.org."
A woman, Mel Lee-Smith, is wearing a black shirt, colorful comic book themed skirt, black tights, and black boots. She leans against a brown and blue mural while looking up and off to the side.