Message From Board of Directors:

Organization Proud to Share Its 2022 Auditor's Report & Tax Return with Public

Auditors Give the Highest Opinion about Fiscal Management at MY Project USA

Entire Board, Including Zerqa Abid, Works Pro-Bono

Zerqa Abid Remains the Largest Individual Donor of the Organization

We Pride Ourselves in Our Financial Transparency! Download & Read the Reports!

Family,

Fiscal transparency and accountability are the main principles by which we run our organization. Not only that, but we also keep ourselves on a very high standard of being the custodian of taxpayers and charity dollars. We also get our annual audits done by one of the best companies in Columbus, Brady Ware and Schoenfeld.  

Last year we received more than $750,000 from the federal government. Therefore, we had to complete a single audit that took more time than we anticipated. Today, we are humbled and proud to present MY Project USA's 2022 auditor's report and tax return to you. Please click here to download the full reports.

As you can see in the image below, the auditors have given us the highest opinion with no issue in our accounts. They write:

"In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of My Project USA as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the changes in its net assets and its cash flows for the years then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America."

Although we rapidly grew from being a $500,000 organization to a $2 million organization, this is third year in a row that we have received the highest opinion from the auditors, as they found no issue whosever. This is a great achievement for us as the Board of Directors of MY Project USA. 

We are also proud to share again that our entire Board works pro-bono including our Founder, President and Executive Director, Zerqa Abid, and Director Administration, Uzair Qidwai. Both give hours of their time in running the organization on daily basis as if they were paid employees.

Sr. Zerqa Abid is also among the top 10 donors of the organization as she donated $13,372 just last year in addition to her time and other in-kind donations worth more than $250,000. Please see the images below. Her all-time financial contribution to the organization to this day is more than $70,000. Of course, the overall impact of her work from starting this organization from scratch is more than $38 million. 

We hope that you will find this information helpful for you as a donor and investor in the community development work that we do. Please help us continue to maintain these highest standards because the cost of fiscal management and auditing has also gone up from $750 in 2018 to $19,000 this year as our organization continues to grow. Because of this growth, we are required to do this level of auditing. This auditing also helps us secure more local and federal grants. Your donations make it all possible! 

In Solidarity with Youth and Families, 
Board of Directors, MY Project USA

MY Reading Warriors:

Students Learn About Architecture During Recent MY Reading Warriors Session

Architecture and buildings were the subject of one of the most recent meetings of MY Reading Warriors at Eakin Elementary School. 

The group read “Brick: Who Found Herself in Architecture” by author Joshua David Stein. Afterwards, the students constructed their own buildings made from toothpicks and marshmallows. Instructors tested each students’ buildings for structural integrity. It was another fun afternoon for all involved.

MY Reading Warriors is an initiative led by young people for young people, a team of college and high school students who plan weekly programs at Eakin to expose youngsters to books, reading, learning and, most importantly, focus on providing an emotionally safe space and mentorship for these students. Our team consists of Safa Mohamed, Nadine Helmy, Yassmin Ben Haila, Dina Kanaan, Adam Khalifa, Zainah Shaheen and Dahlia Daboul. Thank you all for all that you do!

MY Leaders:

MY Leaders Program Expands by Kicking Off Pair of High School Chapters

Chapters at Briggs & West High Schools Began in Mid-November

MY Project USA is proud to announce that we have officially launched the MY Leaders high school chapters at Briggs & West high schools.

MY Project USA Youth Program Director Katana Mullen launched the program at Briggs on Thursday, Nov. 16, and the program at West a day later. She met with dozens of students and 30 have signed on to join the program so far.

The MY Leaders program aims to empower young people through leadership and advocacy training, career readiness, community service learning, academic support, social and emotional learning (SEL) and mental health awareness. The chapters will meet weekly and include monthly seminars, quarterly field trips/advocacy events, quarterly community service events, after-school program opportunities with one-on-one academic advising, SEL programming, career portfolio development and access to meals and snacks.

Students will also be able to apply for internship opportunities and have incentives for meeting the criteria of the program. The MY Leaders programming will run through the rest of the school year, and we look forward to seeing all of the positive impacts that will be made by the students.

Thank you to the City of Columbus, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and The Women's Fund of Central Ohio for their support of the MY Leaders program.

Hilltop Tigers:

Under-18 Hilltop Tigers Squad Participates in International Indoor Cup Tournament

Tigers Faced Top Competition from Maine & Tennessee

Our Under-18 Hilltop Tigers team had a fun trip last weekend when they traveled south to Louisville, Ky., to play in the 2023 International Indoor Cup Tournament! They split a pair of games during the competition, which featured some of the best teams from across the United States.

After a narrow loss to open play against the Tennessee Stars, the Tigers earned a hard-fought 6-5 win against eventual tournament finalist Maine Young Stars. It was a weekend full of competition and a valuable learning experience for our players. Thank you to the tournament hosts for the invitation to participate.

We are proud to say that the Hilltop Tigers are more than just a youth soccer program. It is a well-established outlet for young people that helps keep them off the streets and curbs the pipeline to gangs and drugs. The program also stresses education, putting its members on a better path academically.

Thank you to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, the city of Columbus and the Columbus Youth Foundation for their support of our Hilltop Tigers.

Food Insecurity:

Nearly 400 Families Receive Produce & Groceries from MY Family Pantry During Thanksgiving Week

Despite being closed for Thanksgiving, the Mid-Ohio Market at MY Project USA powered by MY Family Pantry still served hundreds of clients last week.

A total of 1,429 individuals and 398 families received fresh, nutritious food from our pantry from Tuesday, Nov. 21-Saturday, Nov. 25. MY Family Pantry was open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday last week, and each of those three days saw more than 450 clients served. As always, we thank our valued partners at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective for their support.

We would also like to thank MY Family Pantry Director Ramy El-Assal and his entire volunteer team from Ohio State (including Michael Abou-Elias, Rahaf Shalash, Noora Rajjoub, Elsa Wani, Stella Aboshahba, Nawal Abdinur and Chai Annamreddi). Special thanks also go out to MY Project USA team members Ezatullah Momand and Jajuan Parker for their hard work every week.

Because of the efforts of these men and women, MY Family Pantry can distribute fresh produce and groceries to hundreds of individuals in our community each week.

MY Deah's Warehouse:

12 Locations In Columbus To Drop Off Donations – Truck Pick-Up Available For Large Donations

You can now drop off your donations of new and gently used clothes, shoes, books, toys and other small non-breakable items in a donation box near you. These locations include: 

• Noor Islamic Cultural Center –  5001 Wilcox Rd. Dublin, OH 43016
• Masjid Nimrah – 4501 Refugee Rd. Columbus, OH 43232
• MAS Youth Center – 4615 Northtowne Blvd. Columbus, OH 43229
• Turkish American Society of Ohio (TASO) – 2885 W. Dublin Granville Rd. Columbus, OH 43235
• Ahlul Bayt Society – 2580 W. Dublin Granville Rd. Columbus, OH 43235
• The First Congregational Church – 444 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43215
• MY Deah's Warehouse – 4004 Fondorf Dr. Columbus, OH 43228. (Business Hours Only)
• Global Gifts & Thrift – 4730 Cemetery Rd. Hilliard, OH 43206. (Business Hours Only)
• Heritage Christian Church – 7413 Maxtown Rd. Westerville, OH 43082
• Omar Ibn El-Khattab Masjid – 580 Riverview Dr. Columbus, OH 43202
• The Destiny Center – 1561 Old Leonard Ave. Columbus, OH 43219
• Bethel International United Methodist Church – 1220 Bethel Rd. Columbus, OH 43220

We are looking for more locations. If interested in helping us or have any other questions, please contact us at warehouse@myprojectusa.org.

Family Platinum Card:

Register for Our Family Platinum Card Today!

MY Project USA is still actively registering low-income clients for our new Family Platinum Card. This brand-new initiative is FREE and has several benefits.

Benefits Include:

• 20% off discount at MY Community Cafe and Global Gifts & Thrift
• Monthly prize raffles
• Holiday gifts
• “Fast Pass” (a way to speed up the sign-in process) for MY Project USA events    
• Special “Members Only” events
• And MORE to be announced!
• Please come to the Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center (3275 Sullivant Ave. Columbus, OH 43204) to sign up.

MY Helpline:

Rent & Utilities Support Available at MY Project USA

We have been working very hard in securing grants and building collaboration with other partners to help our clients. Thanks to The Columbus Foundation, United Way of Central Ohio, and IMPACT Community Action, we are still able to help more of our families with their rent and utilities. If you or someone you know needs help, please ask them to contact us at (614) 905-0977 or helpadmin@myprojectusa.org.