Girls Entrepreneurship Program:

Supporting Our Sisters: MY Project USA Proud to Show Progress of Young Women in Our New Girls Entrepreneurship Program

Our First Series of Classes Helped These Ladies Develop Marketable Skills – And Helped Build Their Confidence 

Donate at MYProjectUSA.org/donors to Help MY Project USA Continue This Work

MY Project USA recently concluded its first series of classes as part of our new Girls Entrepreneurship Program. These classes were on hair braiding, and we are proud of all of the progress made by these ladies.

Click on the image above or button below to visit our YouTube page and see the scenes from the classes and interviews with participants.

Thank you to the Women's Fund of Central Ohio for their support! None of this was possible without the help of their grant. If you would like to help support our mission, please donate today at MYProjectUSA.org/donors or via the button below.

MY Leaders:

Building Towers (& Leaders!): MY Leaders High School Chapters Learn Crucial Leadership Skills

Our MY Leaders high school chapters at Briggs & West high schools received a great lesson in leadership, communication and teamwork last week.

The students were grouped together to try to build the tallest tower possible, consisting solely of 20 spaghetti noodles, a yard of string, a yard of tape and one large marshmallow. The students were challenged by the task and learned how they had to work together to collaborate on solutions to complete the project as a team. Afterward, they talked about strategies, what went well during the exercise and what they could have done better. Thank you to MY Project USA Youth Program Director Katana Mullen for her leadership in running the program.

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. If you would like to help us continue our mission to protect and empower these students, donate today at MYProjectUSA.org/donors or by clicking the button below.

MY Reading Warriors:

MY Reading Warriors Takes Its Students from the Classroom to Mars

The latest meeting of our MY Reading Warriors group at Eakin Elementary School was out of this world!

Kind of.

The students read the book, "Curiosity: The Story of the Mars Rover," learning more about one of our closest neighbors – Mars! The kids learned about the planet and how Curiosity is helping NASA scientists learn more about the red planet. Afterward, the students made rovers of their own out of toothpicks, Oreos and graham crackers. Thank you to the Be W.I.S.E Initiative for their help. They donated supplies and helped MY Reading Warriors implement STEM into our program by sharing the activities they use.

MY Reading Warriors is an initiative led by young people for young people. We have 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!

After-School Programming:

Binns ASP Students Showcase Musical Skills at Winter Concert

MY Project USA’s after-school programming serves students not only academically but also socially and emotionally. One way we do that is through music, and that was on display Monday night at Binns Elementary School.

Students from our Recharge ASP performed a drum circle at the school’s winter concert. We are proud of all of them, and we would also like to thank team member Chase Hurlow. Chase leads all of our music efforts at all of our ASPs, and he has been a wonderful addition to our team. He also teaches recreation at our Rise ASP at Eakin Elementary School. Thank you, Chase!

Under the leadership of Education Manager Jenna Herron, MY Project USA offers free after-school programs at several sites in Columbus: Binns Elementary School, Eakin Elementary School, Starling PK-8 School, West High School and a program at our Hilltop Youth Empowerment Center. We empower our students by offering academic tutoring, APEX help for high schools, field trips and much more!

Thank you to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, United Way of Central Ohio and the Ingram-White Castle Foundation for their support of our after-school programs. If you would like to help us continue our mission to protect and empower these students, donate today at MYProjectUSA.org/donors or by clicking the button below. We would love to receive your end-of-year charitable donations!

MY Deah's Warehouse:

Your Kindness Can Make a BIG Difference: Help Support Columbus Families Via Our Donation Bins & Your Donations!

Thank you to our friends at Covenant Baptist Church (5100 Dierker Rd. Columbus, OH 43220), who have allowed us to place two donation bins at their location.

MY Project USA is searching for more locations across central Ohio where people can leave their donations of new and gently used clothes, shoes, books, toys and other small non-breakable items. We need your support!

Currently, MY Project USA has bins at several area locations, but we are always looking for more partners that will help us in our mission to protect and empower youth and families on the westside of Columbus.

We will collect the items from the bins weekly (or more frequently as needed) and sort them in our warehouse. Once organized, we offer the items for free to clients in the communities we serve. Some items are also sold at Global Gifts & Thrift, a retail location in Hilliard that is based on the Goodwill model. All proceeds of these sales go toward funding our programs.

Our organization will ensure that the area around the bins remains clean. Please contact Noorullah Shinwari at (614) 817-9159 with questions or if you are interested in partnering with us. Thank you!

If you are looking to drop off items to donate, our bins are at the following locations:   
   • Ahlul Bayt Society – 2580 W. Dublin Granville Rd. Columbus, OH 43235
   • Bethel International United Methodist Church – 1220 Bethel Rd. Columbus, OH 43220
   • Covenant Baptist Church – 5100 Dierker Rd. Columbus, OH 43220
   • Global Gifts & Thrift – 4730 Cemetery Rd. Hilliard, OH 43206. (Business Hours Only)
   • Heritage Christian Church – 7413 Maxtown Rd. Westerville, OH 43082
   • MAS Youth Center – 4615 Northtowne Blvd. Columbus, OH 43229
   • Masjid Nimrah – 4501 Refugee Rd. Columbus, OH 43232
   • MY Deah's Warehouse – 4004 Fondorf Dr. Columbus, OH 43228. (Business Hours Only)
   • Noor Islamic Cultural Center – 5001 Wilcox Rd. Dublin, OH 43016
   • Omar Ibn El-Khattab Masjid – 580 Riverview Dr. Columbus, OH 43202
   • The Destiny Center – 1561 Old Leonard Ave. Columbus, OH 43219
   • The First Congregational Church – 444 E. Broad St. Columbus, OH 43215
   • Turkish American Society of Ohio (TASO) – 2885 W. Dublin Granville Rd. Columbus, OH 43235

MY Family Pantry:

Looking for a Fun Volunteer Opportunity? Battle Food Insecurity in Columbus Through MY Family Pantry!

As families start to hunker down for the cold winter months ahead, the work of the Mid-Ohio Market at MY Project USA powered by MY Family Pantry to battle food insecurity here in Columbus is even more crucial.

From Tuesday, Dec. 5-Saturday, Dec. 9, we saw 2,119 individuals and 614 families come for fresh groceries and supplies. Among those families were 99 who visited us for the first time. MY Project USA is proud to play its part in helping these people keep their pantries and refrigerators full.

We remain very grateful to our valued partners at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, who supply a menu of delicious healthy and fresh food for our clients every week. We also continue to praise the work of our valued team of volunteers and staff, led by MY Family Pantry Director Ramy El-Assal. Team members Ezatullah Momand and Jajuan Parker, as well as office manager Nasir Shinwari, work exceptionally hard to make the pantry run smoothly all week. We also must acknowledge the efforts of our volunteer team from Ohio State: Michael Abou-Elias, Rahaf Shalash, Noora Rajjoub, Elsa Wani, Stella Aboshahba, Nawal Abdinur and Chai Annamreddi.

These college students volunteer on Saturday during our busiest pantry day of the week. This past Saturday, we saw 663 individuals and 206 families, and we thank our OSU volunteers for helping while juggling their stressful school schedules and final exams.

As we near the end of the year and head into the holiday season, MY Project USA is asking for volunteers to help staff our pantry – especially during weekdays. Please visit https://mofb.volunteerhub.com/vv2/lp/MOMUSA/ or click the button below to see volunteer opportunities. If you would like to help MY Project USA's mission to battle food insecurity, please support our Sponsor a Meal campaign. Visit MYProjectUSA.org/donors or click the button below for more details.

Global Gifts & Thrift:

Tis the Season for Shopping with a Purpose at Global Gifts & Thrift!

Find great handmade items and much more during your next visit to Global Gifts & Thrift! The holiday season is here. Shop with a purpose at our store. All proceeds go to help protect and empower youth and families in Columbus.

📍 4730 Cemetery Rd. (Next to the Hilliard BMV)
⏰️ Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

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.