Day of Dignity is Back

Resources, food, and clothing for our neighbors in 2021

Familiar

As volunteers filed in and out of Masjids, community centers, and parking lots turned into full on warehouses for resources, the buzz of IRUSA’s Day of Dignity left an aroma in the air. We’d been longing to get the feeling back that COVID-19 interrupted. That feeling was community. It was the feeling of service. And most of all it was the feeling of working together for a better world. 

Our very own Interim Director of Programs Araif Yusuff mentioned just weeks ago,”They say the happiest people are the people who are in service to others. And when you’re there, all you’re thinking about is how can I be of benefit to this person I’m trying to help or this community that I’m trying to help? That comes with its own sort of calm. I call it the tranquility of the heart.” 

Growing and growing

Day of Dignity was one of IRUSA’s first grassroots efforts in the U.S. It’s now a mainstay in cities all over. This year’s brought back the nostalgia we grew to be so familiar with.

We’ve covered over 13 cities and 20 events with the help of our partners in places like Detroit, New York, New Jersey, Minneapolis and Dallas. CEO of Dream of Detroit (DREAM) Mark Crain said beautifully, “It’s always great to see the IRUSA volunteers, DREAM volunteers, Muslim Center volunteers, MAS youth, and every other local organization that helped us pull this off.”

The people we were privileged to serve walked away with items such as food parcels, school supplies, resource referrals, blankets, coats, and more. 

Milestones

Dallas’s Day of Dignity represented a much more significant milestone for IRUSA’s commitment to being a staple in communities and partnering to be a resource they can depend on.

Our Houston facility had its grand opening on the same Saturday as its scheduled Day of Dignity. The Houston effort came about initially through long term efforts to source housing for flood relief volunteers. We look forward to it maturing into a hub for continued disaster work and bringing partners together to solve complex problems.