Prophet sallalahu alayi wassalam said: “Whoever relieves a Muslim of a hardship in this life, Allah will relieve him of a hardship in the Hereafter, and Allah will help His slave so much as he helps his brother.”
Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) also said: The believers are like a body: if one organ complained/hurt the rest of the body reacted.”
Matching Challenge
If 10 people donated for each team by Sunday Aug 29, HalfDate will donate $200 (Team 1 and Team 3 met the challenge and each got extra $200 matching
For every $50 or more donated, we are matching it $1 for $1 till $5000 total (starting Ramadan 18th) – For your donation to be matched, click here to post a comment
Vote for Projects’ creativity and closeness to your heart. Whenever we collect $500 donations, we will give based on poll’s result. Winner(s) are announced and the poll is reset on each Friday.
HalfDate is starting a new initiative called: Award Drives. Basically, these are quick drives to recognize the service of organizations and individuals. The goal of the award is to encourage Muslim organizations to pursue excellence while thinking outside the box.
One of these award categories is: Creativity (trying to get money other than donations)
Winner: Our second award drive is for AlMaun Fund.
Alhamduillah, all praise and thanks are due to Allah Almighty who has blessed HalfDate with a productive year in 1430/2009. With Allah’s help, thousands of HalfDaters like you have decided to be part of the solution.
So, may Allah reward you with the sweetest date in Jannah.
Future Plans:
InshaAllah, We are going to form a HalfDate Advisory Board, which we hope to be something beneficial and different Because, not as your typical board that includes celebrity “shaikhs” who are out of touch with what’s going on in real life, HalfDate will seek the advice of “real” members of the communities, such as single-parents, teachers, students, community organizers, farmers, and children; as well as, professionals, like lawyers, accountants, journalists, …
We are also seeking proposals for upcoming drives.
Round 1 Results: InFocus, AlMadinah School, AlMaun, Baabun Nasr Inc., Women Affairs of Almumtahinah Inc, and needy mom all qualified. Baitul Salaam and Iqra are giving a chance to reach round 2 milestone.
Round 2 Results: AlMaun, Women Affairs of Almumtahinah Inc, and needy mom all qualified. The rest need to lower their request to reach round 2 milestone.
Round 3 Results: AlMaun achieved their goal and fulfilled their daily updates and also did a video on YouTube…. they will get the PRIZE, mashaAllah
Summary:
HalfDate donated $29 for total Tweets registered
HalfDate donated $1000 for the winner of Match #5, which is posting a video, and the winner is AlMaun, May Allah reward them and preserve them
HalfDate donated $3000 for Match #6, given to unfinished causes: Baabunnasr & Almadinah
Total raised: 15,030 +3,325 + 5,943 + 1,269.82 + 1,375 + 3,454= 30,396.82 (not including InFocus $6620, which was mainly raised by them directly)
Good News:
As salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah
Last year halfdate helped Baabun Nasr raise money to get our 501c3 tax exemption and one year later on Ramadan 29 Baabun Nasr received tax exemption from the IRS.
Jazakallahu Khyraan Half Date may Allah ta ala bless you.
Alhamdulillah, this is the 2nd Ramadan for HalfDate. Last year, HalfDaters helped to raise over $20,000 and have completed several projects, see this article. This year, we will have a productivity race among supporters of different projects, because Ramadan is a month of productivity, not laziness.
So, this drive will include:
A productivity training for you,
Do you know the secrets of ProductiveRamadan? click here
A productivity race among non-profit projects (each week only those projects that met certain goals will be advanced to the next round, the finalists will get special prize, inshaAllah)
Round 1: By Sept 1st, achieve 10% of your goal or 20 testimonials from your fans (posted as comments) Round 2: By Sept 7th, achieve 50% of your goal or $3000 Round 3: By Sept 15th, achieve 77% of your goal or get voted to stay by HalfDaters Final: You survived and you make at least one of the following: 1- publish a video (no music please) 2- do a teleseminar fundraiser, or 3- get a news coverage for your DateDrive.
“I’ve been planning on donating for the past 10 days but this Hadith really encouraged me to do it now!” -A student
مَا نَقَصَتْ صَدَقَةٌ مِنْ مَالٍ
Sadaqah never decreases wealth
-Authentic Hadith collected in Sahih Muslim
Matching Challenges: To respond to a match, post in the comment the match # and how much (anonymously is fine)
Match #1: Dollar to dollar matching up to $100 for any donations from outside the US to newspapers.
Match #2: A brother will give $3 for every $1, for the first 3 high school students who can ask their family members to donate $20 to any of HalfDate listed causes. Post a comment once you donate, so we give the matching ($60 will be donated)
Match #3: A student from Fresno will match any other students donations up to $50
Match #4: HalfDate will donate $1 for every tweet (counted by the gadget) tweetme up to $500 ($29 will be donated)
Match #5: HalfDate will donate $1000 on your behalf if you post a video about one of the causes and get most number of views on YouTube by end of Ramadan (at least 2000 views).
Match #6: One brother will donate $100 (upto $3000 limit) for every $10 you give, just give and post a comment mentioning Match #6, can be anonymous.
Baitul Salaam network, Inc. Direct Link: http://halfdate.com/2009/08/17/my-productive-ramadan-drive/#baitulsalaam Cause: Needy women/children Specific Need: $5000.00 for a van/truck Qualify for Zakah? Not for van, but yes for needy women/children. So, if you are sending Zakah, mention that in your donation.
The Baitul Salaam Network, Inc. a 12 year old domestic violence awareness organization is fund raising to continue and expand our work. We have assisted 618 women and children who were temporarily homeless due to some form of abuse (physical, emotional and/or economic). We have been able with the support of approximately 300 active supporters to answer 9,000+ calls for assistance yearly, make referrals for medical, legal, professional counseling, provide diversity training for organizations such as the Salvation Army, masjid/Islamic centers (most recent the Islamic Center of August, GA) and network to have an impact on legislation on all levels through following organizations: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, GA Coalition Against Domestic Violence, local domestic violence task forces and Masjid Al Bayyinah who host the only Islamic managed Food Pantry in the metro Atlanta.
We need your help to achieve our goals.
You can send your donations using paypal.com to haleem1@aol.com. Or send by mail to: Baitul Salaam Network, Inc., PO Box 115470, Atlanta, GA 30310.
Baitul Salaam and Masjid Al Bayyinah are working together as partners on the Food Pantry project and the van/truck will be used to also expand the recycling program and to pick up food donations from local Food Banks, grocery stores and other organizations. The van/truck will also be used to pick up furniture and appliance donations to the Baitul Salaam Network, Inc. and Masjid Al Bayyinah.
Al-Madinah School Direct Link: http://halfdate.com/2009/08/17/my-productive-ramadan-drive/#madina Cause: Needy students/teacher Specific Need: $22,500 for Tuition Subsidization Funding (with monthly pledge) Qualify for Zakah? Yes for needy students/teachers. So, if you are sending Zakah, mention that in your donation. Details:
We seek your help to alleviate the disproportionate tuition burden being borne by low-income families who have been completely devastated by the recession. We are pleading for Muslim children, because unless we receive additional resources Al-Madinah School will be bankrupt. We are seeking $22,500 $20,000 in subsidy funds for our 2009-10 academic school year. (HalfDate allows only $7K requests)
Contact:
Contact the school for their bank info or you can mail them a check
3510 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90018 http://www.almadinahschool.org/ Email: madina@pacbell.net Phone: 323 296-5961
InFocus News Direct Link: http://halfdate.com/2009/08/17/my-productive-ramadan-drive/#Infocusnews Cause: Public service/Dawah Specific Need: $32,000.00 for printing costs & bills (HalfDate allows only $7K requests) Qualify for Zakah? Strictly speaking, no.
We need your URGENT financial help to continue publishing.
A Needy Single Mom
Round #1 first place holder Allahu Akbar! Direct Link: http://halfdate.com/2009/08/17/my-productive-ramadan-drive/#needymom Cause: Needy Muslims Specific Need: $3,000.00 for her expenses Registered Not-for-Profit? No
A young sister with 6 beautiful children is being evicted from her apartment by the end of the month. She has no means of transportation as her car has been stolen! She’s trying hard to find a home and a job, and even when she does she will need to spend money to pay a babysitter to watch the kids while she’s at work. She’s been walking all over town in the summer heat dragging her kids along with her in hopes of finding something, spending any little money she has on bus and taxi fare. MashaAllah she is very active in her community and puts her kids in Islamic classes and teaches classes herself – free of charge! Despite her situation, she is always smiling and looks so content and yet thankful to Allah.
She is in dire need of help just to cover food and traveling expenses and will need even more money to deposit when inshaAllah she finds an apartment. I can’t think of anyone more tested or deserving than her for this help, so inshaAllah please donate generously to help our dear sister in Islam who strives to carry the banner of this deen and who works hard in da’wah as well. She is a pillar subhanAllah.
Contact: Email: ninjabimuslimah@yahoo.com
Al Maun Fund Direct Link: http://halfdate.com/2009/08/17/my-productive-ramadan-drive/#Almaunfund Cause: Needy families and individuals Specific Need: $3000.00 for sadaqah requests and prison outreach
Other Needs: click here Qualify for Zakah? Yes for needy women/children. So, if you are sending Zakah, mention that in your donation.
We want to continue to help the poor and needy with food, utility assistance, rental help, medical needs and more. Also to provide new shahadahs with Qurans and Islamic reading material. We also want to increase our prison outreach program insha’allah.
cr.811 Sister seeks aid with rent. $200.00
Posted 09.03.09
cr.812 Sister with children (was in severe domestic violence situation) getting resettled after being in shelter, needs help with basic household needs, food and clothing. $200.00
Posted 09.03.09
cr.813 Revert who suffered some domestic abuse, sees aid with rent and utilties. $200.00
Posted 09.04.09
cr.814 Brother lost employment, has been making ends meet by doing od jobs, however unabel to meet rent this month. $200.00
Posted 09.06.09
Contact: http://www.almaunfund.org Email: staff@almaunfund.org or maunfundorg@yahoo.com Phone: 1-877-522-1800
Women Affairs of Almumtahinah Inc. Direct Link: http://halfdate.com/2009/08/17/my-productive-ramadan-drive/#women Cause: Needy women/children Specific Need: $1200.00 for shelter rent. Other Needs: click here Qualify for Zakah? Not for rent, but yes for needy women/children. So, if you are sending Zakah, mention that in your donation.
“We are trying to help ourselves by selling dinner plates and yard sale insha’Allah these funds can go towards other things needed in the home such as household supplies, toiletries, and bus tickets. Our goal is to raise at least $551.00,” said Nadia Auxila McIntosh, Women Affairs Admin.
Contact:
Women Affairs of Al-Mumtahinah Home Inc.,
P.O.Box 1462
Baltimore, MD 21203 Email: womenaffairsofamh@womenaffairsofamh.org or almumtahinah1.home@yahoo.com Phone: 443-798-1323 / 443-627-8979 / 443-869-3403
Baabun Nasr Inc. Direct Link: http://halfdate.com/2009/08/17/my-productive-ramadan-drive/#BaabunNasr Cause: Skill development Specific Need:$2,500 for upgrading our Sister’s computer lab, which help families to move towards self-sufficiency by providing computers for employment searches, housing and utility assistance programs, resume writing, literacy programs on-line and much more! We have four computers donated from Temple University. (Update: They got 10 used computers donated by a local business, Alhamduillah)
$500 for winter gas bill. Last year, Baabun Nasr staff worked through the winter without heat because the cost to connect the gas was $500.00. This year with Allah’s aid we would like get the gas turned on.
Qualify for Zakah? Not for computer lab/bills, but yes for needy Muslims. So, if you are sending Zakah, mention that in your donation.
The following sponsors have either helped HalfDate before with free services or have bought a sponsorship package. To sponsor a drive, please contact us.
Fresh Date Sponsors(Platinum)
Dry Date Sponsors
Things Done During This Drive:
Volunteer for this drive, just pick the days you want to volunteer. Click here
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.
“Alhamdulilah when Muslims visit, I forget all my worries,”
-A father of a 3-yr-old son
DateDrive of Rabie A-thani 1430/April 2009 Type of DateDrive: Monetary & Awareness
“I donated $7.29 because that’s all I could afford without making my bank account empty.” -Sister T
Drive Target:
Collecting $4,977 USD (rent about $750 + educational programs for $500)
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)
Getting 12 groups/individuals to write support letters/cards to these 50 families in Houston, mail them to this address
“I’ve been planning on donating for the past 10 days but this Hadith really encouraged me to do it now!” -A student
مَا نَقَصَتْ صَدَقَةٌ مِنْ مَالٍ
Sadaqah never decreases wealth
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”
Matching & Challenges:
Grow HalfDate: For every mailing list signup, HalfDate will donate $1 up to $200. Just join the mailing list and post a comment that you are participating in Alamaanah drive
Blog for a cause: For every blog post about helping refugees/Alamaanah, $5 will be donated up to $250
A pleasant word! For every comment or Dua about Sadaqah or refugees posted about helping refugees, $1 Canadian Dollar will be donated up to $100.
Matching Challenge: If 100 people each donates $5, I’ll match their donations ($500) – post in the comment
Unemployed & Broke Challenge: If an unemployed Muslim donates $20 or more, we’ll double it up to $500 – post in the comment
Baitul Salaam supports Al-Amaanah: Everyone (maximum 100 donors) who gives $5.00 Baitul Salaam (women shelter in GA) will give $5.00. We challenge you to challenge us. Give at least $5.00 to be matched by us
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:
Sunday school, TX, USA made 50 cards Allahu Akbar!
BuildingBlocks, MN, USA
Sydney youth, NSW, Australia
Bengali tigers, CA, USA
Ladiedee, MI, USA
Poetry Sisters, CA, USA
Coach Zohra, IN, USA will collect from her community and send in Hijab and other gifts
Baitul Salaam, GA, USA will collect and send gifts, giftcards, and cards
Calgary Sisters, AB, Canada
Northside College Prep Jamaah Club, IL, USA
Miriam, NY, USA will send a Hijab and a note
Bebo’s parents, NJ, USA
Abu & Umm Omar, CA, USA
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.
“Hey, lets do the card thing… it would be awesome for our kids to make cards for refugees” -Teacher N
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
“We are from a class in an Islamic After School program in California, ages 4-7, and we heard about a refugee family whose daughter can no longer walk and talk. The kids wanted to make cards and drawings for their sister in Islam. May Allah reward you all for your efforts inshaa-Allah.”
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/
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.
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I remember when our family were refugees, how many generous people helped us with everything: clothing, food, education, etc.” -Sister A
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