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| We Broke Our Goal! A Note From Aliya and Khalid Latif on Last Night's Fundraiser for Syria |
 As'salaamu Alaykum,I woke up yesterday to a sea of emails, missed calls and facebook notifications, requesting tickets for our sold-out event for Syria relief. The last few weeks leading up to our fundraising iftar reconfirmed in my mind the unmatched potential of our community of students and young professionals. Some 60 volunteers served as a backbone that helped raised nearly $50K prior to event - their efforts arguably a case study for community organizing in NYC and beyond. As such, I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them for giving their time, talent and treasure. Thank you for helping to power a fundraising effort to provide humanitarian aid to Syrians through Islamic Relief that raised more than $200K. Thank you for hosting bake sales, placing donation boxes at restaurants and businesses and pushing #ICNYU4Syria social media campaign (Check out this video! http://bit.ly/QD8Wr3) that generated tens of thousands of dollars and helped built awareness for our cause. Thank you for giving how you can. Thank you for giving beyond your initial intentions. Everyone can still contribute. This effort can not end here. At the fundraiser, we saw a picture of a little girl paralyzed from a bullet at a refugee camp and heard from individuals who lost loved ones fighting for their freedom. We heard the story of an individual who ran for his life while inside Syria with medicine -someone else's life strapped to his chest and back. We heard that Syrian mothers stir empty pots so their children think there is food to eat as propane prices skyrocket to $100. Every second counts. Your donation is Zakat-eligible and tax-deductible. Please donate today here: http://bit.ly/ICNYU-Syria Look forwarding to working with you on our next project. Your constructive feedback is always welcomed. Best, Aliya twitter.com/aliyaplatif as'salaamu alaykum Last night the Islamic Center at NYU hosted a special fundraising iftar in conjunction with Islamic Relief USA for the people of Syria. Alhamdulillah, we raised over $205,000 and the donations are still coming. It's times like this that make me truly proud to be a part of this community. It was remarkable to see how much effort went into the evening by all members of our community and the unique methods by which they raised awareness. Bake sales were hosted at mosques throughout the city, social media campaigns were started, small donation bins were set up in restaurants and street carts throughout NYC, and we were able to raise awareness as well as a good amount of money for the people of Syria. I'd like to give a special thanks to Aliya Latif, who took the lead on organizing the dinner last night and everything leading up to it, as well her team of 60 volunteers who really made all of the difference in the evening being as successful as it was. If you weren't able to make it out last night and would like to contribute to the cause, please visit our Team Fundraising Page at http://bit.ly/ICNYU-Syria. That link will stay live through next friday inshallah. I know a lot of you wanted to come out and weren't able to because tickets sold out. Inshallah we will try our best to have a larger venue next year. We saw last night the immense impact our community can have when we come together. We are defined as a community of young people - students, professionals and otherwise. I would say we are not young, but rather we are vibrant. The energy that is brought to the table when each of you is present is what makes us what we are. Thank you for standing with us last night. Please do stay involved and continue to stand with us today and every tomorrow that you are here. Your presence is greatly felt but your absence is as well. Your support of the Islamic Center helps us to do things like we did last night. If you have not done so already, please consider making a contribution to the IC. We are run completely on donations and every bit helps. You can make a tax-deductible contribution to the Islamic Center through NYU’s Office of Development by clicking here. I pray that these last nights of Ramadan are beneficial for you and your loved ones. Please do keep the people of Syria, Burma, China, all those who find themselves in any kind of conflict, and each other in your prayers. You all, as always, will be in mine. was'salaamu alaykum Khalid -- ________________________
Imam Khalid Latif | University Chaplain | New York University Executive Director | Islamic Center at New York University
Phone: 212.998.4712 | Email: kl442@nyu.edu | www.icnyu.org 238 Thompson Street | Suite 491 | New York, NY 10012 | USA Department Chaplain / Inspector | NYPD | Phone: 646.234.5517 
  
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