MY Project USA's Annual Banquet:

MY Project USA Looking for Sponsors for Upcoming Annual Banquet

Are you a business owner looking for a way to help underserved communities in Columbus? Consider becoming a sponsor of our Annual Banquet!

MY Project USA's signature event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Ohio Union. All proceeds from the banquet will go toward programs that protect and empower young people and families in Columbus. Reach hundreds of potential new customers and community members by sponsoring this event. We expect 350 guests, primarily from Dublin, Hilliard and Upper Arlington. We will have elected officials, community leaders and professionals in attendance.

We have five sponsorship tiers. They include Diamond ($10,000), Gold ($5,000), Silver ($2,500), Bronze ($1,500) and Crystal ($500). Here is what each tier receives:

Diamond ($10,000)
• Recognition as a Sponsor at the Banquet
• 2-Page Ad in our Award Book
• Business Material on Each Table
• 3 Tables with Business Name
• 30 Complementary Tickets
• 1 Post for 4 Weeks on Our Social Media About Your Business
• 3 30-Second Promo Ads During the Banquet

Gold ($5,000)
• Recognition as a Sponsor at the Banquet
• 1-Page Ad in our Award Book
• Business Material on Each Table
• 2 Tables with Business Name
• 15 Complementary Tickets
• 1 Post for 2 Weeks on Our Social Media About Your Business
• 2 30-Second Promo Ads During the Banquet

Silver ($2,500)
• Recognition as a Sponsor at the Banquet
• 1-Page Ad in our Award Book
• 1 Table with Business Name
• 10 Complementary Tickets
• 1 Post for 1 Week on Our Social Media About Your Business
• 1 30-Second Promo Ads During the Banquet

Bronze ($1,500)
• Recognition as a Sponsor at the Banquet
• 1/2-Page Ad in our Award Book
• 1 Table with Business Name
• 5 Complementary Tickets

Crystal ($500)
• Recognition as a Sponsor at the Banquet
• 1/4-Page Ad in our Award Book
• 1 Complementary Ticket

Please contact Taq Aziz at (614) 905-0977 or dir.outreach@myprojectusa.org with any questions.

MY Project USA's Annual Banquet:

We're Less Than a Month from Our Annual Banquet! Get Your Tickets Now!

It just a little more than three weeks from our ninth Annual Banquet, “Narratives of Resilience." Grab your tickets today to our signature event!

Regular Prices (Table sales end on Oct. 31):
Child under 10: $35 ǀ Family Childcare: $70 ǀ Student: $75 ǀ Adult: $150 ǀ Table of 10: $1,350

The banquet will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Ohio Union (1739 N. High St. Columbus, OH 43210). This is our signature event to benefit MY Project USA’s programs that protect and empower youth and families on the westside of Columbus.

This year we will be joined by Rep. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali American to serve in the United States Congress, as well as several additional elected officials, interfaith and community leaders and – of course – our young people. MY Project USA will also hand out its annual MY Deah’s & Chrys Gee Awards (See the next note!).

MY Project USA is proud to have become the largest Muslim-led social service organization in Ohio. We continue to have great pride in our partnerships with interfaith and social justice partners. At the banquet, we will celebrate our accomplishments and highlight our hard work in serving the under-served communities in Columbus.

The proceeds of the Annual Banquet will fund:
  • Issa Jeylani Memorial Recreation Center
  • MY Soup Kitchen
  • Financial Empowerment of Refugees & the Underserved

This event was sold out last year. Please book your seats now using the button below.

MY Project USA's Annual Banquet:

Deadline Coming Next Week for Nominations for Annual Deah Barakat & Chrys Gee Awards

Deadline for Nominations is Friday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m.

MY Project USA’s ninth Annual Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4 at the Ohio Union, and we are proud to announce that we are currently taking nominations for the following awards:

  • Deah's Change Maker of The Year Award
  • Deah's Excellence in Community Service & Leadership Award
      - NOTE: Two versions of this award will be handed out. One to a young person, one to an adult.
  • Deah's Community Service Award
      - NOTE: Several awards will be given in this category.
  • The Chrys Gee Activist Award

These awards recognize and honor exceptional individuals who make volunteerism and community service a way of life. Those who exemplify the best in volunteering, a sense of caring and responsibility for others that connects citizens and solves community problems. Each award winner must be someone who makes selfless and extraordinary contributions, in addition to those associated with their normal job duties, for the betterment of the local community and beyond. 

The Deah's awards are handed out in honor of Our Three Winners – 23-year-old Syrian American Deah Barakat, his 21-year-old wife Yusor Abu-Salha and her 19-year-old sister Razan Abu-Salha. They were brutally murdered by a neighbor on Feb. 10, 2015, and we honor all three of them for the outstanding, caring, vibrant, beloved, bright young Americans they were.

The Chrys Gee Activist Award is in memory of Chyrs Gee, a loving wife, mother and activist whose sudden passing in December 2018 left a huge void in our community. She was a remarkable person; someone whose memory inspires others to continue the amazing work she started.

Learn more about each award and nominate someone by clicking the button below. All nominations must be submitted by 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20.

Girls Empowerment:

Hair Braiding Class Kicks Off New Girls Entrepreneurship Program

MY Project USA is committed to providing programming to help young women develop and grow. With that in mind, we are proud to show off scenes from our new Girls Entrepreneurship Program (GEP), which will be held twice a week at the Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center.

Led by instructor and cosmetologist Tiffany Lee, MY Project USA has started a hair braiding class for young women. We had seven ladies attend the first class and we hope to continue to grow the program in coming weeks. Thank you to Tiffany for leading the class, and a special thank you to MY Project USA Youth Program Director Katana Mullen and Assistant Youth Program Director Muna Cheik for their hard work putting the GEP together!

The GEP is a part of our MY Leaders initiative, brainchild of MY Project USA Founder & Executive Director Zerqa Abid. Through MY Leaders, our organization aims to empower youth through leadership skills training, advocacy training, community service learning, academic support and mental health awareness. Thank you to the City of Columbus, Ohio Department of Education, the ADAMH Board of Franklin County and the Women’s Fund of Central Ohio for their support.

Education:

Fun Continues During After-School Programs at Eakin, Starling & West; Program Kicks Off at Binns

Our after-school programs continue to provide young people with fun and educational opportunities at several schools in the Hilltop.

Programs have kicked off at Eakin Elementary School, Starling PK-8 School and West High School. Each location continues to offer enriching programming, highlighted this week by writing work at Eakin, art projects at Starling and the start of our Career Fri-Yays talks at West. Click the button below to see photos from all three locations.

We thank Samuel James of the Columbus Division of Police for being our first Career Fri-Yays speaker. He told students about his journey and what brought him from the Dominican Republic to becoming a police officer in Columbus.

We have also kicked off our program at Binns Elementary School this week and will soon be starting programming at the Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center.

MY Project USA would like to recognize the efforts of Education Manager Jenna Herron, Assistant Education Manager Felix Mijangos and their team of aides and volunteers that work so hard to make these programs successful for the youth people we serve.

Our teams include:
• Eakin: Stephanie Bassham, Kayla Hancock, Aleah Goesset and Shaday Martinez.
• Starling: Ms. Hayes, Nate Crosby, Jalat Shinwari, Kelli Jacobs, Fadumo Adbulle and Stephanie McGivern.
• West: Felix Mijangos, Treniece Rondo, Irshad Shinwari and Megan Stamper.

All programs are free for qualifying families and are made possible thanks to the financial support provided by the Ohio Department of Education, United Way of Central Ohio, the Ingram-White Castle Foundation and the Siemer Family Foundation.

MY Family Pantry:

First Week of October Sees More Than 2,500 Visit MY Family Pantry

The first week of October was an exceptionally busy one for the Mid-Ohio Market at MY Project USA powered by MY Family Pantry. We had more than 2,500 individuals served at the pantry.

Thank you to our valued partners at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective and to our impressive team of staff and volunteers that help make the pantry run smoothly for our clients. From Tuesday, Oct. 3-Saturday, Oct. 7, a total of 2,508 individuals and 655 families visited the pantry. Among those 655 families were 116 who visited us for the first time.

Saturday was the busiest day, as usual. We saw 866 people visit the pantry, including 226 families. We 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). We also thank pantry team members Ezatullah Momand and Jajuan Parker for their hard work every week.

Thanks to these men and women, we are able to distribute fresh produce and groceries to hundreds of individuals in our community each week. If you would like to join us in fighting food insecurity in Columbus, volunteer via the button below.

MY Community Cafe:

In Case You Missed It: Miriam & Judi Go On 'Adventure' at MY Community Cafe

Thank you to Columbus residents Miriam Musser and Judi Kauffman, who visited the Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center to try MY Community Cafe for the first time! They were gracious enough to speak to us after their lunch to talk about their experience.

Click the image above or button below to watch this video on the MY Project USA YouTube page.

Located at 3275 Sullivant Ave., MY Community Cafe is a pay-forward cafe with all proceeds going to help MY Project USA feed and assist all children, elderly, homeless and other clients on the westside of Columbus.

We are ready to serve our community and clients at a new level. This cafe will contribute to the economy of the Hilltop area. It will serve amazing sandwiches, wrap and platters all year round. We have a seating area for families to eat here. We are also prepared to cater, too!

Order. Donate. Feed a Future!

📍Address: 3275 Sullivant Ave. Columbus, OH 43204 (at the Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center)

Global Gifts & Thrift:

Take an Inside Look at What You Can Find at Global Gift & Thrift

Check out the great selection today. We're located in the Hilliard Shopping Center next to the BMV. All proceeds of sales go to funding MY Project USA's programs. Happy shopping!

Shop. Donate. Build a Life!

📍Address: 4730 Cemetery Rd. Hilliard, OH 43026 (next to the BMV)

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.