#Community
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Ramadan Reflections: Day 1 Nafs Hack with Naeem Muhammad
Nafs Hack: Use Visual Cues Assalamu alaikum, and Ramadan Mubarak! Each year, Islamic Relief sends daily inspirational videos to you during the month of Ramadan. This year’s Ramadan Reflections are focused on Nafs Hacks, or life hacks that will help you with spirituality, productivity, and to make every day in Ramadan productive. My name is Naeem Muhammad, and this is my Nafs Hack. Anytime you’ve started to bring on a new, good habit or want to implement some kind of new behavior, what I like to do is to use visual cues, as well as remove all obstacles out of the way to implement that habit in my life. So,…
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Sudanese-Muslim Councilman Lends Support to Islamic Relief USA
Councilman Mohamed Seifeldein visited the Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) headquarters on Tuesday, April 30, thanking the organization for the work it does in saving “countless lives,” as well as requesting its assistance in making the city of Alexandria, where IRUSA is headquartered, even better. Seifeldein, who was elected last November, is the first Muslim to serve on the local governing body. He is a refugee from Sudan, an African nation that recently experienced major political shockwaves when its longtime president, Omar al-Bashir, was removed from power. The councilman, who is a lawyer, said he decided to run for local government after noticing it lacked sufficient representation from the city’s west…
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Islamic Relief USA Grantees Discuss the Importance of Fighting Hunger in Schools
No Kid Hungry Officials from Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, which works to end childhood hunger by connecting eligible kids to federal nutrition programs, spoke at the March 14 forum of the Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) Public Affairs Education Series. They expressed the importance of student access to school meals in order to foster improved concentration and performance toward studies. Hunger amongst students is a significant problem. In the United States, one in six children struggle with hunger. “We feel that feeding hungry children is a moral imperative,” said Elliot Gaskins, managing director of development at Share Our Strength. Programs that Deliver The organization has set an ambitious…
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Four Ways We Ended Our 25th Year
In 2018, here at Islamic Relief USA we were all systems go for celebrating our 25th anniversary—that’s 25 years of service and hope. Check out four of the biggest ways we celebrated the end of this year below. #1: 500K Meals Packed… Islamic Relief USA was founded 25 years ago by young volunteers ready and willing to take on any possible task that fell from the sky. People like IRUSA President Anwar Khan can attest to the drive of IRUSA’s earliest volunteer cohort. They knew what had to be done, even though in some cases the “how” wasn’t readily available. But what makes IRUSA’s volunteers special is that they figure…
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A Special #GivingTuesday to Yemen
Crowdfunding is an Interesting Universe There’s a crowdfund for almost anything today. You can raise funds to make cherry pie in the actual shape of pi 3.14. A need for a single tooth can be answered by a group of well meaning stranger. There’s also the possible good fortune of having sculptures of bacon created, if desired. No matter how you name it, crowdfunding has changed the way we view and contribute to fundraisers forever. But something special happened in 2018 on this past #GivingTuesday, an annual campaign for people to donate to various causes mostly boosted on social media. An outpouring of compassion rained in across platforms like Facebook,…
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Islamic Relief USA President Tells U.N. Fellows to Continue Doing ‘The Right Thing’
Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) President Anwar Khan encouraged this year’s United Nations Alliance of Civilizations program fellows to continue making a difference in the world. He especially stressed the importance of valuing diversity and protecting people of other faiths, something IRUSA has long been committed to as part of its mission. “It’s part of our work,” Khan said. He emphasized how working with women and young children is instrumental to future success. Khan said when youngsters are not given enough attention or any productive activities, the chances increase of them of resorting to violent extremism. It’s important to “keep them busy, [otherwise] they will have time to do bad things,”…
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Faith-Based Organizations Form Partnership to Improve Outcomes
Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) and Islamic Relief Worldwide held a forum last month on September 12, 2018, focusing on the importance of partnerships among faith-based organizations to address major humanitarian crises around the world. Naser Haghamed, CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide, participated in the panel discussion. The discussion, titled “Faith on The Frontline,” took place in the Canon Office Building at the U.S. Capitol. The talk also included Mark Hetfield, President and CEO of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), and Bill O’Keefe, Vice President for Government Relations and Advocacy at Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Jean Duff, coordinator of the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Social Communities, was the…
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A Mother’s Day Dictionary
by Jahanara Hoque I think we can all agree that one day, let alone one word, isn’t enough to celebrate the wonderful women that we call our mothers. This Mother’s Day, to honor all the moms out there, I reached out to expecting mothers, new mothers, veteran moms, and children alike to ask them what exactly is it that makes their mom and being a mom so special? What do you love most about her? What is one word that you feel best sums up motherhood? Although there will never be enough words to express the magnitude of love that surrounds moms, I think I caught a small but heartwarming…
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IRUSA-Supported Sewing Academy Grads Hone Their Skills One Stitch At A Time
A famous African proverb states: “If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a nation.” That quote also was used by Ieasha Prime, director of women’s programs at Dar-Al-Hijra, to describe the graduating class of the 8th semester of the mosque’s Sewing Academy. The latest class comprised of 12 women. In addition to certificates, each graduate received a Singer Start 1304 sewing machine, which virtually assures them access to a tool to building on their success. Islamic Relief USA helped launch the sewing course in 2014, when it awarded it a $10,000 grant. Within two weeks of the grant, Prime said…
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Disasters Serve As Tests of Strength…In More Ways Than One
It’s always rewarding to be part of the solution, alleviating the woes of the people who were severely impacted by the major weather events. Last year, it felt as if one disaster didn’t complete unleashing its wrath before another one took place in some other part of the U.S. Fortunately, Islamic Relief USA, a humanitarian and advocacy organization that works in more than 40 countries, lent a hand in the aftermath of many of these catastrophic, and often life-changing events. Thanks to our relatively new Disaster Response Team (DRT), the organization, which will mark its 25th anniversary later this year, was able to have an on-the-ground presence and help people…
