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Philanthropy Community Service Personal Development
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead
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Letter From Our Founder
| As-Salaamu-Alaykum Dear MWA Member, First and foremost, it is with great pleasure that I inform you that Muslim Women's Alliance is now an official 509 (a)(2) public charity and is tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) under the laws and guidelines of the Internal Revenue Service. All praise to Allah (SWT).
We would like to thank our legal advisers Mazen Asbahi of Asbahi Law Group, and Nazia Hasan for the time
and energy they dedicated in helping MWA achieve official nonprofit status. We would also like to thank MWA's Director of
Finance, Husna Ghani for her assistance in consistently following up on
the long 501(c)(3) application process.
We can now continue to meet the ambitious vision of the organization and help it grow to the next level.
Additionally,
MWA is also blessed because of YOU, our dedicated members. Your efforts resulted in a meaningful Ramadan and summer:
- More than 180 MWA members rolled up
their sleeves and participated in 1,000 hours of hands-on community service
- MWA members donated $17,055 to charity
- Nearly 700 individuals and 65 families benefited from MWA's service projects and charitable contributions
Thank you for your continued support in ensuring that MWA is a resourceful organization in the community.
MWA wishes you and yours a very happy Eid!
 Anisha Ismail Patel |
Ramadan Rush for Rewards 2010 Recap
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 This
year's Ramadan Rush for Rewards was a huge success thanks to our
members. MWA hosted five events and logged more than 1,000 hours of hands-on
community service.
 In cooperation with Feed My Starving Children, 92 volunteers worked for more than two hours to package almost 21,000 meals, or enough to feed 57 children for one full year! In addition, MWA raised $700 in
donations benefiting the organization. For pictures, click here.
The second event was a community iftar held at a synagogue where 250 Muslims and Jews came together to pray, break the Ramadan fast, and learn from each other. They also jointly worked to put packages together for homeless youth. For pictures, click here.
 Our
third event was providing iftar for 40 people at Masjid Al-Farooq, which serves the south shore
community. MWA members raised $1,570 toward a new masjid.
For pictures, click here.
Once
again MWA was a part of UMMA's "Adopt a Refugee Family Initiative" for the fourth RRR event. MWA sponsored the "Kids Korner" engaging children with craft making, face painting, singing
songs, and making new friends. MWA volunteers also raised close to one thousand dollars to provide Islamic books to the kids, baskets for families, and additional aid for refugee
families. For event pictures, click here.
The final RRR event was
volunteering at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica to work in the parish's soup
kitchen.
 Nearly 50 volunteers met for suhoor (meal before starting the fast) at an all-night diner followed by Fajr prayer at the church. They made breakfast for 200
homeless people in Chicago. For pictures, click here.
MWA
also participated in a pre-Ramadan event to welcome new refugee
families of IMAS (Iraqi Mutual Aid Society) in early June. Volunteers
welcomed 30 new refugees by helping them navigate through the
immigrant experience. More than 65 baskets were collected full of household and
nonperishable food items. For pictures, click here.
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Thanks!
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MWA would like to acknowledge the following people for making the 2010 Ramadan Rush for Rewards possible.
RRR 2010 Team:
MWA Director of Community Service Sabina Abdul-Qadir
MWA Program Managers: Aqeela Jogee, Samana
Khan, Beenish Manzoor, Nazia Pervaz, Alzena Saleem, and Yasmin
Sitabkhan
Thanks also to our Marketing Department:
Eman Hassaballa,
Fareen Kazi,
Madhu Krishnamurthy and Sadia Qureshi.
You and your
respective committees showed outstanding leadership. May you all be
rewarded for the positive impact you have made!
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312-298-9MWA
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Support Us
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Mail donations to:
Muslim Women's Alliance
P.O. Box 3354
Oakbrook, IL 60522
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Join Us
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MWA is looking for volunteers to serve in the following capacities:
MARKETING DIRECTOR
PROGRAM MANAGERS
WEB DESIGNER
WEBMASTER
Click below to join MWA:
MWA Volunteer
Application Form
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Hadith For Thought
| The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said: "Whoever fulfills the
needs of his brother, God will fulfill his needs. Whoever eases his
brother's difficulty, God will ease his difficulty in this life and on
the Day of Resurrection."Sahih Al-Bukhari,
Volume 3, Hadith 622
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Prayers for Pakistan
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Please keep the millions of Pakistanis affected by the catastrophic floods
in your prayers.
MWA is
partnering with www.pakistanfloods.org to provide information to its
members about various needs in the region right now. Continue to donate
geneoursly through charitable organizations providing relief to
Pakistan.
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MWA Supported Community Events
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MWA
Executive Director and Founder Anisha Ismail Patel  was invited to
speak at One Chicago One Nation's Community Ambassador Induction
Ceremony at IMAN's Takin' it to the Streets event early this summer. Speakers included Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and IMAN's Executive Director
Rami Nashashibi. Below is an excerpt of Anisha's comments:
"The One Chicago One Nation
initiative is going to help MWA further motivate our members to realize
the organization's vision of building
a strong alliance between women from diverse backgrounds so that
collectively we can partake in philanthropy, community service &
personal development. This will help us with our efforts to build
mutual respect & understanding. Women
make an even greater impact as they serve as role models for the
present and the future. When women stand together as sisters, the message
is echoed even louder, and it is clear that we serve the community as
strong agents of change. MWA looks forward to continue to collaborate
with people from different faith backgrounds."
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MWA Member Spotlight
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Sadia Qureshi serves as an Interim Marketing Specialist at
MWA overseeing
the marketing strategy and branding of the organization. 
Sadia works for The Women's Treatment Center (TWTC) as a Development &
Marketing officer. TWTC provides continuum of substance abuse treatment
and counseling services to women and their children. Part of Sadia's
personal career mission is to help people find opportunities to empower
other people as well as themselves so that they may improve their
overall life experiences as a community. Previously, she worked with the University of Chicago Hospitals, YWCA, and several
advertising agencies in Pakistan as a concept and copy writer.
Sadia earned her bachelor's degree in Mass Communications, and Integrated
Marketing Certification from The University of Chicago. She is a
member of Association of Fundraising Professionals and Young Nonprofit
Professionals Network.
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