Kids and Youth Leaders at the End of Year Party at the Eakin Elementary School, Columbus OH
A Message From The President:
MY Hilltop Project - Empowering Youth & Families Against Drugs, Gangs, and Pimps - Thank You
Parents and Youth Programs to Roll Out This Summer
Dear Family, Assalamu alaikum,
It's been two months that we sent out our last newsletter. We apologize for the gap in the reporting to you. Please know that it was not because we did not do anything. Instead, it was because we did so much more with so few resources that our biweekly newsletter became a casualty of the situation :)
By the grace of Allah during this time, we have taken so many steps towards reaching many of our milestones. We spent much of the last two months in networking, coalition building and community organizing to launch some of the top needed program in the Hilltop area in Columbus to save hundreds of our refugee youth and families from gangs, drugs, trafficking and other types of violence. We are pleased to announce that we have got everything lined up and we are now ready to roll out the following programs during summer and through the next school year:
1. Hilltop Kids Club (Elementary School Kids) - Director: Thoraya Abdulqader - Partners: Public Schools, Boy Scouts of America 2. Boy Scouts - 6 Packs & Troops (Elementary and Middle School Kids) - Director: Zerqa Abid - Partners: Boy Scouts of America, Public Schools, Public Libraries and local organizations 3. Boy Scouts Ventures Program (14+ Youth) - Director: Zerqa Abid - Partners: Public Schools , Boy Scouts of America 4. Hilltop Soccer Team - Co-Directors: Ali Hassan & Muhammad Amin Jimale - Partners: The City of Columbus, Public Schools 5. Hilltop Tutoring & Reading Program - Director: Samira Muhamed - Partners: Public Schools, Public Libraries and local organizations 6. ESL Classes for Parents - Director: Dorothy Hassan - Partners: United Way of Central Ohio, Public Schools 7. Hilltop Parents Workshops (45 weeks) - Director: Zerqa Abid - Partners: United Way of Central Ohio, Public Schools 8. Summer Youth Employment Program - Director: Zerqa Abid - Partners: ETSS, COWIC 9. MY Deah's Warehouse (Used clothes, shoes & toys business) - Director: Zerqa Abid
None of this was possible without your presence. You gave us that peace of mind through your donations and volunteer hours that was crucial for us to grow. You paid our rent, bills, stipends and salaries of our youth and other employees. Thank you for your trust in us. Thank you for investing in our refugee youth and families. Without you, they could never achieve their American dreams. May God always protect and empower you and your loved ones. We hope that you would continue your support into this new phase of our work.
If you are available, please join us at our iftaar dinner on Saturday,June 3rd. If you can't come still consider sending a check or online donation per your convenience.
Your Presence Makes A Difference - YOU Can STOP IT Help Us Save Children Before It Is Too Late!
Human trafficking is modern day slavery, where a person is compelled to perform labor and/or commercial sex through the use of fraud, violence, threats, and other type of coercion.
At national level, Ohio ranks first in Opiate Deaths and fourth in Human Trafficking. That puts Ohio children at a greater risks anyways. For refugees families it adds more challenges. We are already dealing with young Muslim gangsters,drug dealers, and victims of trafficking in Columbus. There are about 25,000 Muslim youth (boys & girls) in Columbus at the risk of gangs, violence, drugs and human trafficking. We are the only Muslim organization that is actually working in the most troublesome neighborhoods to protect and empower our youth.
Join Us at MY Project USA Annual Iftaar and help us continue and grow our work to address this grave issue. Your donation and Zakat can help us save hundreds of families and youth this year.
Ramadan Volunteer Opportunities - Share Your Blessings Calling on all community members
First, we want to thank you for showing your interest in supporting MY Project USA. As the only non-profit of its kind in the area, we rely solely on your efforts and contributions to the project in helping sustain and empower the youth of the Hilltop area.
We are always in need of committed volunteers, and here are some of the ways you can donate your time:
MY Family Pantry MY Family Pantry is a sub-set of MY Project USA, and works on serving fresh produce and other goods to families of low socioeconomic income in the Hilltop area. We need help every Thursday afternoon to unload and stock the goods and every Saturday morning to distribute them to families.
MY Eid Toys Drive 2017 Put smiles on the faces of the thousands of children within our refugee community on the west side and help us reach our goal of 2500 toys and 750 goody bags, God willing.
MY Iftar Kitchen Join us in this humbling experience by donating cooked food, donating money, or helping us serve the needy. We cannot reach our goal of feeding 100-200 people a day this Ramadan without your help!
Titled "Stop Slavery: Our Children Are Not for Sale", this year's fundraiser is aimed towards spreading awareness about human trafficking and raising money to support the initiatives that help and empower the targeted communities. We need volunteers to help on the day of the dinner. Please sign up.
This year we will hold a two-day open house at MY Deah's store to share our Eid Blessings with our Muslim Refugee and other brothers and sisters that are facing financial difficulties.
The families and youth of the Hilltop area require your help. We appreciate your commitment and generosity and can't wait to work with you!
Not Fasting This Ramadan - Feed People Through Our Pantry
Need Donations to Buy Vegetable Oil, Rice, Sugar and Flour for Ramadan Pantry
200,000 plus meals & Snacks Distributed to More than 13,000 people in 6 Months
We are truly grateful for Allah (SWT)'s support and your presence in our project. Together, we were able to distribute enough food to make over 200,000 meals and snacks for more than 13,000 individuals since Thanksgiving 2016. Please see the pantry tracker's report below for the last week's distribution.
Pantry Tracker Report for May 21st, 2017:
Approximate # meals & snacks distributed: 14500
Families Served - 93 ⃒ NEW Families Served - 18 | Individuals Served - 511
Families without Children- 14 ⃒ Families with Children- 79
Children- 307 ⃒ Adults- 194 ⃒ Seniors- 10
Family Size 1-3 members - 21 ⃒ 4-6 members - 34; 7+ members - 42.
We are truly humbled by this experience. We hope that our community will continue to support this initiative. Your donations help us pay for the rental truck every week and help us buy dry staples and supplies for the pantry.
Our 2nd Annual Youth Conference was an experience that was one for the books! It was an experience that will never be forgotten. The conference enlightened and shed light on issues that the youth were otherwise unaware of and/or knew very little information about. We want to thank Columbus State Community College from the bottom of our heart for their leadership in collaborating with MY Project USA in holding our conference at the college in April. We are looking forward to have collaborative events at the college in future.
