With donations, both monetary and in-kind from Chicago area Muslims, the national nonprofit ICNA Relief will donate 400 backpacks and supplies to Emmett Louis Till Math and Science Academy in Chicago, today, in observance of 9/11. The donation is valued at more than $1,000. ICNA Relief’s Chicago chapter has donated more than 1,200 back packs and supplies locally, in total, this summer.
“Do you remember the joy of having brand new school supplies? Many of these children don’t. We have also distributed back packs to 200 children in need at the DuPage County Back to School Fair 2015. Other recipients include homeless children via Bridge Communities in Glen Ellyn and refugees at the Chicago Dawah Center, Islamic Center of Wheaton, Masjid AlFarooq in Chicago, and kids in need in Rockford and Peoria,” said Dr. Saima Azfar, Director, ICNA Relief Chicago.
“We are living our faith in action. As Muslims we are expected to be there for our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable, our children in need. Getting their school year started off on the right foot is an important step in the right direction.”
Besides individual donors, Muslim organizations supporting this effort include Islamic Center of Wheaton (ICW), Wheaton; MECCA Center, Willowbrook; Muslim Community Center (MCC), Morton Grove; ICNA Sisters Wing, Young Muslims (YM) and Muslim Children of North America (MCNA).
In 2014, ICNA Relief distributed 23,825 backpacks and supplies to children in 16 states, across 70 distribution sites. The Glendale Heights based Chicago chapter alone distributed 850 backpacks including among homeless children hosted by Bridge Communities, a Glen Ellyn, IL, based non-profit.