Muslims Help Local Communities Amidst Economic Crisis

This Sunday, August 21, from 2:00pm - 4:00pm, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, ICNA Relief, a division of The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a NY based national organization, will give away 500 free school bags and school supplies to children of the Bedford-Stuyvesant community.

The distribution will take place at the Masjid At-Taqua at 1266 Bedford Avenue and Fulton street. Each child who participates will receive free school bags filled with supplies including notebooks, pens, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, rulers, crayons and more.

“Many families in Bed-Stuy are under financial pressure; some have lost jobs and find it difficult to buy school supplies for their children,” said Asim Ranginwala, Outreach Director for ICNA NY. “We hope this initiative will cater to these needs of low-income families, and help build a better future for our children.”

ICNA NY also is hosting giveaways in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and Westchester. The initiative is part of ICNA’s national Back 2 School Giveaway Project, which is holding more than 30 similar events across the U.S. These efforts hope to help over 15,000 children nationwide.

Islam teaches us, “A person is not a Muslim who fills his stomach while his neighbor is hungry,” said Ranginwala. "The month of Ramadan also gives special importance to increasing charitable acts, as fasting develops compassion for those who are poor and needy, inspiring the act of giving."

Through the Back 2 School Giveaway, ICNA hopes to both help struggling families provide for their children and inspire the rest of the American Muslim community to partake in this commendable act.