Update # 19

Note:There are several donors who offered to donate but their payment methods didn’t work or the transaction fee is higher than the donation, so we would like to acknowledge their effort and may Allah reward them for their intentions, they are from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK, and USA.

DateDrive of Rabie A-thani 1430/April 2009
Type of DateDrive: Monetary & Awareness

Drive Target:

1. Collecting $4,977 USD (rent about $750 + educational programs for $500)
2. Getting 70 support comments and dua, click here to post a pleasant word (Put, your city/state/country, so we feel the sense of one global family)
3. Getting 12 groups/individuals to write support letters/cards to these 50 families in Houston, mail them to this address

Current highest donation is $700, smallest $1, click here to read more interesting facts.

Combined total of Paypal, Authorize.net, and offline

The above total includes Al-Amaanah locally raised $2141

“I’m currently an unemployed student! ALhamdulilah I gave $40 to this great cause. I hope HalfDate can match I remember when our family were refugees, how many generous people helped us with everything: clothing, food, education, etc.” -Sister A

To donate (online or by mail) click on “Donate Now”

Write to these families

We are looking for 12 groups/individuals to write to these 50 families in Houston.

So far, the following brothers/sisters/groups have promised to write:

1. Sunday school, TX, USA made 50 cards Allahu Akbar!
2. BuildingBlocks, MN, USA
3. Sydney youth, NSW, Australia
4. Bengali tigers, CA, USA
5. Ladiedee, MI, USA
6. Poetry Sisters, CA, USA
7. Coach Zohra, IN, USA will collect from her community and send in Hijab and other gifts
8. Baitul Salaam, GA, USA will collect and send gifts, giftcards, and cards
9. Calgary Sisters, AB, Canada
10. Northside College Prep Jamaah Club, IL, USA
11. Miriam, NY, USA will send a Hijab and a note
12. Bebo’s parents, NJ, USA
13. Abu & Umm Omar, CA, USA
14. Dulles High School Muslims, TX, USA

Al Amaanah, Inc.
8181 Fannin, Suite 337
Houston, TX, 77054

Or email tamra at halfdate and we will print/convey your email to Alamaanah volunteers.

There are about 50 families, lots of kids, about 10 widows, and a few sisters living on their own. If your school/masjid want to ask your kids to make cards for these families, please try to make 50 cards and let the kids write their names and their city.

Sample Letters & Cards

All the info they gave was that it was from Sister Yafa and her class (Imam, Yusuf, Ahmed, Muhammad, Iman, Amal, Yasmine, and Hosna). May Allah reward the teacher, students, parents, school admin, and all those who helped with the sweetest date in Jannah

If you want to write to a specific person, you can write to the following:

Kids:
you can ask them to write to Hassan and Ibrahim, asking them to take good care of their mother, of each other, and their younger brother.

Or Mustafa:

Adult:
Abu Mais
A father of 7 kids, eldest is 14 yrs old. He takes his kids to and from school everyday, runs all the errands during the day and then works at night as a security guard.

Pharwin
A Burmese girl, mashallah very very smart, she serves as our guide every time we go to the Burmese complex because she is the only one that can speak English there. She is still in school, learning fast and likes school.

Some of you asked about giving these families some gifts. Here are some suggestions:

Prayer rugs, Qurans (especially, in Burmese language) and scarfs/Abayas, school supplies, household items and appliance, and clothes.

The following are some example of these families (Al-Amaanah sponsors about 50 families):

Family #1 (Iraqi)
Single woman, lives on her own, doesn’t speak English. Wallahy she has been waiting all week for our visit, she hasn’t been here for long and doesn’t know that many ppl. Has no one to talk to, and thats her main problem, she wants to learn English so bad. I suggest some sisters make it a habit to visit her twice a week. Maybe get some dessert or something and just go spend some quality time with her. She will be having surgery in April so won’t be able to work this month until she gets the surgery and recovers. She also needs pocket money during this period until she starts working again. Please visit her, call her on the phone, make her know that she is not forgotten!

Family #2 (Iraqi)
Single woman living with her mom and she is the one that has to pay the bills, her mom is too old to work. She was in dire need of finding a job last week and alhamdulillah she just got one a couple of days ago. She hasn’t been working for a month though and her rent has to be paid before the end of the month!!! She also is planning to move closer to work because she takes 3 buses just to get there from where they live. So we promised to help her move, but rent still has to be paid for this month!!!

Family #3 (Iraqi)
A man in his mid 30s, can’t work because he has a lot of medical problems, needs help paying his electric bill (inshalla is in the process of being taken care of). He doesn’t speak English and therefore is isolated in this big world! We should start making it a habit to visit him every week too. He says he could use some furniture around the house so we need to go visit him and find out how can we help him more.

Family #4 (Iraqi) *update 4/19 He found a job, Alhamduilllah*
The father used to work as a barber in Iraq, he had another job here but got laid off because of the economy. He said he is waiting on his papers to come from Iraq this week so that he can start working his normal job (cutting hair). He is having trouble paying the bills and rent till he starts working again.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• Can I give Zakah?
  Yes, you can click here to give Zakah
• Do you spend my Zakah in administrative or operational cost?
  No, Zakah is strictly and totally giving to end beneficiaries.
• Can these brothers and sisters work?
  Yes, they are looking for jobs and a few do have part-time jobs, but that’s only enough to pay for food, utilities, etc.
• What about government assistance?
  Government rent assistance to refugee families cover only the first four months.
• I saw on TV that non-Muslims organizations (e.g. churches) are helping them?
  Yes, there are other refugee service organizations. However, Al Amaanah provides unique services that Muslim families need, e.g. educational programs for their children.
• What is Al Amaanah?
  Al Amaanah is refugee service organization based in Houston, Texas, USA. The word Amaanah means trust or duty, because Muslims believe that taking care of our brothers and sisters who happened to be refugees is an amaanah on everyone’s shoulders.
• What other services does Al Amaanah provide?
  Other than financial support, our services include English classes, homework help for children, and physical and emotional support for many widows, injured, and disabled refugees.
• I want to know more about your volunteer interaction with these families, where can I find that?
  Visit Al-Amaanah blog http://alamaanah.wordpress.com/

For more information, visit http://www.alamaanah.com/ or listen to this interview.

To keep updated, visit Al-Amaanah blog http://alamaanah.wordpress.com/

Interesting Facts

• All early donors are from Australia (Sun does rise from there )
• Smallest contribution is $1 (half a date )
• Biggest contribution so far is $250 from Pennsylvania $400 from California $500 from Texas $700 Calgary, Canada
• A laid off mother of three donated $20, a brother who lost his job gave $40 (please make dua for them)
• Several unemployed students gave, one gave $7.29 because that’s what she had in her account.
• Youngest donor she doesn’t even have a credit card or bank account Rehan and Heba (7 & 4 children donated from their own money).
• Alhamdulillah, Over 10 blog posts for this drive, may Allah reward all bloggers.
• Alhamdulillah, over 17K views on YouTube alone (not counting other sites), may Allah reward all views and promoters.
• The donor who gave $7.29 later gave another $77 from tax refund.
• A sister found a job after giving.
• A mother found her sick child improving after giving.
• Several donors gave multiple times, one sister gave again because she didn’t have enough to give the first time, another sister gave whenever she felt pain or inspirations.
• Alhamdulillah, over 100 gift items (cards, letter, gift card, scarf, clothing) have been mailed to Al-Amaanah
• Several groups have raised for the drive, namely Northwestern University, Calgary medical students, and Organic HalfDate Club

If you know any media or Khateeb wants to talk about this drive. Let them contact us (tamra -a-t- halfdate.com)

Drive Sponsors

HalfDate promotion costs are sponsored by the following sponsors and by HalfDaters like you.

Want to spread the word?

• Blog about this drive. Click here
• Post the http://halfdate.com link on your email or forum signature.
• Buy an ad on Google or social media ads on Facebook, MySpace, …
• Chip in for flyer printing and distribution.
• Tell your local media about this drive.

Pictures: