More than 100 children received a gift for Eid Aladha thanks to the efforts of our friend Sahar Elsamra of Poughkeepsie . For this special occasion, Sahar single-handedly carried out this task. Since 2016, following the arrival of our refugees in Albany, Sahar has organized drives each Eid to ensure that each child receives a gift.

We raised $6250 and gave a single woman the ability to commute more easily to work! We are especially grateful to our Champion Donor, Robert Khalife of Slingerlands and to all who participated, including Maria Barrington, David Coolidge, Tracie English, Majirda Hernandez, Nissrin Kazoum, Asma Khan, Wei Ling, Kelly Mateja, Luisa Niaz, Margaret Ross, Tahir Shaukat, and our many anonymous donors.

Thank you so much to all who donated toward the purchasing of a commercial sewing machine and a serger for Ahmad, a father who arrived recently to the Capital Region. Ahmad now has the tools he needs to support his family and he couldn’t have done it without your help. A big Thank you to our dear friend David Kolman for his generous and continued support.

Surgery to restore a young mother’s sight was made possible through the generosity of our friends Robert Khalife of Slingerlands and Sahar Elsamra of Poughkeepsie.

A big thank you to the youth of Al Nour Islamic School in Poughkeepsie and their advisor, Sahar Elsamra for the coat drive and the generous donations.