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Muslim Food Bank’s Annual Fundraising Dinner a Success
4-06-2015
On Saturday March 28, the Muslim Food Bank (MFB) hosted it’s annual Fundraising Dinner to a packed room of keen attendees. The Muslim Food Bank is a not for profit organization which aims to provide services to the Lower Mainland Muslim community.
The evening began with a presentations on the MFB and the programs it offers, describing how the organization approaches it’s programs through a Holistic Intervention. Azim Dahya, MFB Board Chair, presented on the MFB organization and the importance of community involvement for the success of the organization. He urged the community members to support MFB and its ASPIRE Program through volunteering and donation.
Sana Siddiqui, the ASPIRE Program Supervisor, described the ASPIRE Program as focused on long term intervention, aiming to provide families with the resources and skills necessary to alleviate their situation while empowering themselves through case management and counseling. She described the HOPE Project as an extension of the ASPIRE Program, with an aim to support Muslim youth with mental health and addiction challenges. Services offered include counseling and connecting youth to resources in the community. By using short term interventions coupled with long term interventions, the MFB aims to empower the community through supportive programs, helping individuals become resilient and strong.
Asad Asadullah, the ASPIRE Coordinator, described MFB's Holistic Intervention in detail. He described Food Distribution as a short term intervention at the basic level, providing families with food twice a month, as well as a Table Spread initiative which distributes sandwiches in the Downtown Eastside on a monthly basis. He also described different projects of ASPIRE Program as long term interventions. The Community Support Project, HOPE Project, ASPIRE Training Institute, Big Brothers Project, Seniors Support Project, Family Counselling Project are the current long term interventions of MFB.
Keynote guest speaker Sheikh Alaa Elsayeed kept the room energy high through his engagement with the audience during the fundraising event. His beautiful examples on the importance of giving charity in Islam kept everyone’s hands in their pockets wanting to give more. The successful event raised funds for the MFB and all of its operations including the ASPIRE Program. The fundraising dinner ended with Duas by Dr Irfan Sheikh, a Board Member of the HOPE Project.
For more information about the various services and programs offered by MFB, please visit the website http://www.muslimfoodbank.com/, follow @muslimfoodbank on Twitter or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MuslimFoodBank?fref=ts
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