MY Project USA's Annual Banquet:

Coach Ali Jeylani Wins the 2023 Deah's Change Maker Award

Leader Russo, Chief Bryant, Principal Roberts & More Make the Class

Join Us This Saturday to Celebrate Them & Empower Our Youth

When it came to choosing the winner for this year’s Deah’s Change Maker of the Year Award, it was not a difficult decision. Simply put, Ali Jeylani checks all the boxes.

MY Project USA is proud to feature many impressive team members, whether they be staff members or volunteers. But it’s hard to find someone as inspirational as Ali Jeylani. As many of you know, Ali lost his 15-year-old brother, Issa, in 2022 to gun violence. It was a tragic event that shook our entire village to its core. While we miss Issa every day, we are heartened to have Ali here working so hard to continue Issa’s legacy – while establishing himself as a mentor and role model to our Hilltop Tigers.

This past year has been one of growth and maturity for Ali. He got married. He’s taken more of a leadership role with our soccer program. You will also see him take a more public role as our organization continues its push to build the Issa Jeylani Memorial Recreation Center here in the Hilltop. 

We are honored to have Ali as a part of our team. His players are fortunate to have him as a coach and a mentor. We thank him for all that he’s done since joining MY Project USA, and we all congratulate him as the latest winner of the Deah’s Change Maker of the Year Award.

This Saturday, we will celebrate him and his team of coaches and players. 

The MY Project USA team is extremely excited to announce the new class of our new awardees. Minority Leader Allison Russo, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant, West High School Principal Daniel Roberts, local activist Mary Klain, many Hilltop Tigers and other youth leaders are part of this class. We will celebrate them with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and other community leaders, youth and parents this Saturday at our Annual Banquet, "Narratives of Resilience," at the Ohio Union.

Only a few seats are left. Please click the button below to get yours before they're gone!

Hilltop Tigers:

Watch Our Hilltop Tigers Show Off Skills in Fall Highlight Video

Check out all of the fun from the fall season for the Hilltop Tigers in this new video. Thank you to our wonderful players and coaches for another special season of Hilltop Tigers soccer. We look forward to creating many more wonderful memories with you all!

Special thanks to Abdi Bakari for all of his great photos from practices and games this fall. 

MY Family Pantry:

Saturday Sees More Than 800 Clients at MY Family Pantry

More than 800 clients were served on Saturday, Oct, 28, highlighting another busy week at the Mid-Ohio Market at MY Project USA powered by MY Family Pantry.

A total of 2,155 clients - including 805 alone on Saturday - visited the pantry from Tuesday, Oct. 24-Saturday, Oct. 28. More than 400 people visited during each of our three weekday openings, and 588 families visited during the entire week overall.

Thank you to our valued partners at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, and thank you to MY Family Pantry Director Ramy El-Assal and his entire team from Ohio State (Michael Abou-Elias, Rahaf Shalash, Noora Rajjoub, Elsa Wani, Stella Aboshahba, Nawal Abdinur and Chai Annamreddi) and other volunteers for helping on Saturdays. We also want to recognize MY Project USA team members Ezatullah Momand and Jajuan Parker for their efforts in making the pantry a success.

Thanks to their efforts, we distribute fresh produce and groceries to hundreds of individuals in our community weekly. Our pantry is open on Tuesdays (10 a.m.-2 p.m.), Wednesdays (3-7 p.m.), Thursdays (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) and Saturdays (10 a.m.-2 p.m.).

MY Community Cafe:

Did You Know MY Community Cafe Can Cater Your Event? 

MY Community Cafe served some delicious food Friday night during our Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center. Our awesome pay-forward cafe is available to cater your events! Don't forget: All proceeds go to help MY Project USA feed all children, elderly, homeless and other clients on the west side of Columbus.

Call (614) 905-0977 for catering information.

Order. Donate. Feed a Future!

📍MY Community Cafe Address: 3275 Sullivant Ave. Columbus, OH 43204 

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.

Annual Report: 

Have You Read Our Annual Report Yet? It's 32 Pages of Great Info!

If you have not yet read our latest annual report, click on the image above (or the button below) to download a PDF of the 32-page report. We did our best to put eight years of work in these pages, but that's nowhere near enough to attempt to tell the full story. 

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.

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.