Giving charity is one of our five pillars in Islam. As Muslims, there is great emphasis put on the importance of helping those in need and doing our part to make the world a better place. In the holy Qur'an we are told,
"Those who believe and do righteous deeds are the best among creation." (98:7)
The Islamic Center has always been actively involved in community service projects and providing social services to those in need of assistance. Over the past couple of months, we have been working to take our engagement to the next level with the establishment of our new Social Services committee.
Our Social Services committee is a small but mighty team of familiar faces that you have likely seen buzzing around the center - Mustafa Anwar, Sazzad Hossain, and Altaf Kazi - three highly invested members of our community. Their energy is high to make a difference and they have been busy planning social activities for the center and finding meaningful opportunities for service. In May, the committee threw a successful Memorial Day Barbecue in the back parking lot and June was dedicated to a special Ramadan Project. As many of you are aware, each Saturday, ICSC holds a food pantry that is open to the community. The Social Services committee saw an opportunity to partner with the Zakat committee, MYG, and the food pantry volunteers to build upon the current model and specifically lighten the burden of struggling Muslim families during the month of Ramadan by establishing a grocery delivery service. By the end of the month, they had successfully donated nutritious food such as rice, chicken, eggs, and potatoes to 11 Muslim families (equating 43 individuals). After the bags of groceries were prepared, the MYG helped deliver to families from Los Angeles, Glendale, Van Nuys, and all the way to Winnetka. After seeing the impact that this program made, they have decided to continue the program on a monthly basis, masha'Allah.
In the months to come, keep your eyes open for ways to participate in their events. Some of the social events include family movie night and a community picnic. We will also let you know when there are more opportunities to volunteer and help with their service projects. We are so blessed to have established this team of dedicated leaders at our center and look forward to all the projects to come! Please consider
making a donation today to help fund future programs from the Social Services committee.
For more information on the Social Services committee, please contact
Mustafa Anwar.
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| Mustafa Anwar, Altaf Kazi and Sazzad Hossain from the Social Services committee |
