ICNA distribute essentials
Almost the whole world is in the condition of lockdown to contain the spread of the pandemic coronavirus. Due to this lockdown, the people who are below the poverty line are suffering the most. To tackle this condition, the USA organization of Muslims, Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) came forward to help them. Muslims in Houston, Texas organized a drive through system to distribute Groceries, hygienic/household items, and hot meals to people for FREE. THIS IS HUMANITY 😭❤️ pic.twitter.com/Yv1PmQIEsL — StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) March 28, 2020 ICNA Relief Chicago is distributing food boxes to those who have lost their jobs, homebound elderly, widows, and other low-income neighbours. ICNA Relief USA strives to build healthy communities, strengthen families and create opportunities for those in despair while maintaining their dignity and advocating for their basic human needs. During the COVID-19 crisis, ICNA Relief has been on the frontline helping serve the community. They have been providing door to door deliveries to the elderly and vulnerable, food distribution in impoverished neighbourhoods, and hot meals for picks across Long Island. Driss Rarhai (66), who used to collect the essentials from ICNA office on every Friday, this time the ICNA team, reached him to give the food packets. This help is reaching to all people, irrespective of their religion. Article Courtesy: siasat.com
What Faith Looks Like Now: A Conversation With the Imam Omar Suleiman
Since I met Imam Omar Suleiman a few years ago, he’s been good at checking in from time to time, to see how I’m doing or to get my perspective on something. And I’ve found that it’s invaluable to get his take, or just to talk to him for a few minutes. He is a comforting presence in what, even before this month, were uncomfortable times. We had spoken recently: he had been scheduled to go to New Zealand not long ago, on the anniversary of the Christchurch attack, but was forced to stay here and was wondering how best to commemorate the moment. We caught up again early last week, to talk about how he’s handling the current pandemic. Suleiman—the resident scholar of the Valley Ranch Islamic Center in Irving, founder and president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research in Las Colinas, and professor of Islamic studies at SMU—sounded exhausted when he picked up the phone, but seemed to gain strength through the rest of the conversation. Which, in turn, gave me strength, as it always does. A transcript, lightly edited for clarity, follows. I’ll have more of these in the coming weeks. But, first, a prayer. How’s it going with you? It’s good. Just nonstop. I think everyone’s in the same situation. It’s been interesting. I’m just trying to help people stay optimistic. It’s hard, though. It’s hard to validate people’s pain, but at the same time, you know, trying to help them see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a tough time to sort of adjust our pastoral capacity or put it to the test, you know? Just the amount of stuff you have to take in now with something like this happening, on top of everything else. Yeah. So I’m worried about my dad. I mean, I think that’s the main thing. I think everyone’s worried about their own elderly folks, more than anything else. My dad’s 77, moved to Dallas last year, he lives down the street. So trying to keep him safe and protected, as much as possible. Of course. So balancing that with everything else is something else. But, all things considered, we’re doing a lot better than the vast majority of people. So just grateful and trying to do as much as we can for everybody else. How have you seen things change with, you know, having to keep a distance from the people who worship alongside you—or you used to, at least in the past weeks? How’s it different to do what you do with not being able to be around people? Yeah, it’s obviously—I mean, I think like with everyone else, it’s tough. It’s particularly difficult because for the elderly that were coming to the mosque on a daily basis, the mosque was also their only social outlet. Yeah. So we have to think about how to do more than just send out texts. In my case, I’m doing my three webinars a day, you know, but I realize I need to just actually schedule every day, just call five people, FaceTime them, or try to do some kind of Zoom or Skype or whatever it is just to, just to give them some level of social comfort, you know? To find some kind of normalcy. So that’s been the main thing. It’s been really on the minds of every Muslim here is what’s going to happen with Ramadan? It’s exactly a month away. Oh, right. I didn’t even think about that. Ramadan is what the whole year is about. Of course. I think that for us, that’s been what’s occupying the minds of people is, you know, what Ramadan is going to be like. What I anticipate is that as more people actually start to feel the pain of this thing beyond just being quarantined, you know, as we have more deaths in the community, which is inevitable, that’s where the focus will shift. So right now it’s more about the loss of spiritual privileges, less about the amount of spiritual pain that people are feeling. Once this really settles in and I think we see the full consequences of this virus, that’s when I think it’s going to hit the community harder. I know that from speaking to a lot of Muslims that are in New York and New Jersey right now, where we’ve already had several deaths and some of them have been Muslim and not being able to do the funeral prayer properly. So while we’ve been sort of consumed here with not being able to do the Friday prayer, in places where there have been more deaths, they’d been consumed with not being able to be the funeral prayer. And I think that that reality is gonna dawn upon us very soon and, you know, just pray we’re able to learn from those that are going through right now. You said you’re doing three webinars a day. What are you doing in those? I’ll do like a nightly reflection. I log on every night at 8 o’clock. I’m recording a bunch of different talks and series to be used for Ramadan. I do a Friday sermon online, but it’s not the actual replacement of the Friday sermon. It’s just to give people that connection on Friday that they typically would have had with a sermon. And, you know, I’m just trying to make myself available to all the different organizations that are out there. Practically every Muslim organization right now is organizing some sort of webinar, especially the nonprofits that are at risk of going under because of this, not being able to pay staff. Ramadan is the main fundraising season for every Muslim nonprofit. So that’s another dynamic to this. It’s not just the financial pain with the rising unemployment rates and, you know, everything else that all other Americans are going to feel, but Muslim nonprofits relying on Ramadan to give them their annual funding. And so that’s not going to happen. So a lot
ICNA Relief Organizes Telethon for COVID-19 Relief
ICNA Relief holds its first nation-wide telethon this Saturday, April 4th from 5-7 PM for an on TV One USA, Dish Ch. 675, Sling URDU Pack.
Donations boost health-care system
By Vincent Ball Thousands of masks, disposable gloves and other personal protective equipment are being delivered to front-line healthcare workers courtesy of Wilfrid Laurier University.
USCMO Holds Coronavirus Crisis Teleconf. for Leaders
(Washington, D.C., 3/26/2020) — The U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations convened its first National Muslim Leadership Teleconference on the Coronavirus Covid-19 contagion’s impact on the Muslim community on March 21. Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Andre Carson (D-IN) participated along with 113 organizational leaders.
How to volunteer and donate in New Jersey during COVID-19
As the coronavirus causes real disruption to the lives of New Jerseyans, some residents will be disproportionately affected and many service agencies will be critically impacted.
ICNA Relief Canada donates $150K to help Trillium Health Partners battle COVID-19
A Canadian Muslim relief agency is chipping in $150,000 to help Trillium Health Partners (THP) battle COVID-19. THP is comprised of Credit Valley Hospital, Mississauga Hospital and Queensway Health Centre in Etobicoke. ICNA (Islamic Circle of North America) Relief Canada is dedicated to helping those in need both at home and abroad. “When we saw the strain on our health care system, we knew we had to act decisively,” said Ijaz Tahir, chair of ICNA Relief Canada, in a news release this week. “This gift is part of a larger campaign where we as a Muslim community are stepping up to help our neighbours in need.” The hospital system said the donation will support the highest-priority equipment needs to care for COVID-19 patients. “It is inspiring to see organizations like ICNA Relief Canada come forward during a time of unprecedented need,” said Caroline Riseboro, president and CEO of Trillium Health Partners Foundation, in the news release. “Thank you for stepping up to help Trillium Health Partners respond to COVID-19 by donating funds that will match the crucial gifts that others in the community make, doubling their impact!” During this unprecedented time, the THP is asking supporters to “please consider giving a gift to Trillium Health Partners” to support the pressing needs of the hospital and staff as they respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. Every dollar donated, said the THP news release, “will be doubled, thanks to community leaders like ICNA Relief Canada.” Donations can be made at trilliumgiving.ca/covid19/. Article Courtesy: durhamregion.com
Maya Cosmetics to donate 400 kits of personal care products to ICNA Relief
COVID-19 has brought life as we knew it to a stand still. It has also provided companies committed to corporate social responsibility impetus to ramp up their efforts. Bridgeview, Ill., based Maya Cosmetics (www.maya-cosmetics.com) reached out to Chicago-based ICNA Relief, a local nonprofit, to ask how they could help. The result is a donation valued at $3,500 comprising personal care products for families in need, including Vaseline, body wash/shampoo, deodorant, mouthwash, nail clippers, tweezers, nail file, a comb, and toothbrush. Volunteers will assemble 400 kits on Friday, March 27, at Maya Cosmetics headquarters, 7633 W. 100th Pl. Bridgeview, IL 60455 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The items will be delivered on Tuesday morning, March 31, to ICNA Relief Food Pantry, 1781 Bloomingdale Road, Glendale Heights, IL 60139. “As more and more of our neighbors lose jobs or see their businesses being impacted, the need to be our brother’s keepers is more urgent than ever before,” says Javed Younis, president, Maya Cosmetics. “At Maya Cosmetics, we do our best to incorporate these values into our day-to-day business dealings. Corporate Social Responsibility is not about distinguishing ourselves from the competition but rather just being a responsible organization that gives back to the community consistently. It’s about being human and living our Islamic faith. These are all matters we have to answer to (God) about,” he says. “Toiletries are necessities and rarely offered by food pantries, making Maya Cosmetics’ kits even more valuable, especially in this crisis,” said Dr. Saima Azfar, Director, Islamic Circle of North America Relief (ICNA Relief) Chicago. “We are so grateful to organizations like Maya Cosmetics. We need all the donations possible.” ICNA Relief (icnarelief.org) serves thousands at its pantries in Chicago and Glendale Heights. Giving back — a muscle that grows the more you use it Maya Cosmetics (www.maya-cosmetics.com), makers of halal nail polishes and beard care products, is America’s leading halal cosmetics company with distribution in 43 countries. “These efforts were part of our Islamic upbringing originally rather than just a part of our corporate mission. My late father was one of the most-selfless people and always taught me that if I was able to help someone in need, I should just do it,” says Younis. Besides financial donations to charities and nonprofits, the company sponsors Iftar, the meal at sunset during the Islamic month of Ramadan, for several hundred people each year. Maya Cosmetics also makes a conscious effort to source ingredients from fair-trade suppliers around the world. Approximately 20% of ingredients in nail polish remover and 40% in beard grooming products are sourced under fair trade. For instance, one of their ingredients, almond oil, is purchased from Palestinian farmers at fair trade prices, giving suppliers and independent farmers a sustainable livelihood. Further, Maya Cosmetics has created custom products at wholesale prices for fundraising efforts for organizations like KBK Relief Foundation that supports indigent women around the world. Donations were made to Susan G. Komen and HugABaby Campaign in South Africa based on sales of particular products in particular countries. “These were requests our customers brought to us,” Younis said. “Corporate social responsibility, business ethics and philanthropy are crucial in running Maya Cosmetics as a business.” Article Courtesy: dailyherald.com
ICNA Relief Canada donates $70K toward Osler Health System's COVID-19 response
A Canadian Muslim relief agency is helping William Osler Health System respond to the novel coronavirus pandemic by donating $70,000 to help purchase equipment like ventilators and intensive care unit beds. The Osler hospital system includes Brampton Civic Hospital, Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness, and Etobicoke General Hospital. ICNA (Islamic Circle of North America) Relief Canada is dedicated to helping those in need both at home and abroad. “We are grateful for the support of ICNA Relief Canada,” said Ken Mayhew, president and CEO of the Osler Foundation. “Now more than ever, our community must rally together behind our health-care workers and our hospitals. Donations, such as the one made today, help give our front-line workers the tools they will need to save lives.” ICNA Relief Canada has started a campaign to support those impacted by COVID-19. They are supporting hospitals with monetary donations to help purchase lifesaving equipment, providing food baskets to people who are vulnerable and isolated, and offering counselling services via phone or online. “ICNA Relief Canada is pleased to support Osler as they mobilize for the challenges ahead,” said Ijaz Tahir, chair of ICNA Relief. “Through this donation, we are helping to realize our mission to provide an immediate response during times of disaster and to implement programs that alleviate human suffering.” Donations made now to Osler Foundation will be matched dollar for dollar up to $250,000 by Steve Robinson, wealth advisor with RBC Dominion Securities, as part of Osler Foundation’s #HealthcareHeroes Campaign. To donate, or to learn more about how you can show your support to the community’s #HealthcareHeroes, visit oslerfoundation.org/covid19. Article Courtesy: toronto.com
