Forty (40%) of U.S. households have less than $1,000.00 to address financial emergencies. Many are living paycheck to paycheck. With the shutdown approach a full month, many federal workers and their families are experiencing severe financial difficulties: eviction, utility cutoff delayed medical care. Like many of the households referenced above, many have no emergency funds on hand and are required to report to work despite not being paid. Many lack sufficient funds to even come to work. The effects of the shutdown are having traumatic impact on these families.
CIOGC recently distributed over 500 gasoline gift cards for free to the TSA workers at Midway Airport on Tuesday, January 29. CIOGC Executive Director, Abdullah Mitchell stated, “many of the 800,000 federal workers are truly suffering from this unnecessary government shutdown.” He then quoted a famous tradition in which the Prophet Muhammad said, “our community is a like a body, when one part of the body is in pain, the rest also feels the pain. Hence, we can’t sit by while our fellow Americans are hurting.”
Darrell English, Vice-President, American Federation of Government Employees, Local 777 was delighted with the generous response by CIOGCand agreed to accept the gift cards on behalf of the TSA workers.
You can support our effort to provide relief assistance to furloughed workers by donating to CIOGC. The donations are being used to assist workers with food and transportation expenses for those who reported to work, but were not being paid during the government shutdown.
Your cooperation is appreciated,
Abdullah Mitchell
CIOGC Executive Director