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Marching Forward With Thaakat

Dreams for Kachra Kundi Coming True!

By: Ammara Bokhari, Director of Global Projects

the site, helping with their projects, and witnessing the immense need for educating these children. or some professional college. mentioned General Haider of his visit to Kachra Kundi. A chance meeting ended up turning into something so much more meaningful for me. Having served as former GovWe went there. It was very flying over the filth, and people had torched the garbage. I saw thousands of children studying there. I was quite see the way were teaching They said that when these children complete their 10-years of education, we want them to go to college, which will enable them to go to an engineering Click here to see the full articollege or a medical college cle of updates on Kachra Kundi ernor of Sindh and Interior Minister of Pakistan, General Haider surely understood the most critical areas of Pakistan that needed help. I was so excited to hear of his knowledge on the area we were working to tion we are working with. He Pakistan admirable, citing them to be making a great difference in education for the poor. It was great to have met General Haider and to have heard of his experiences and he looks forward to seeing Thaakats progress develop on-site. Khairs work in Kachra Kundi during his time as Governor of Sindh and was brother also having volunteered there.

I had the chance to sit down

and speak with the former Governor of Sindh and Interior Minister of Pakistan, retired General Moinuddin cago. Since retirement, General Haider has been immersed in charitable work Featured in this issue: 1 in Pakistan, an organization helping people with blood disorders. I was interested to 2 2 3 3 4 4 hear of his charitable work of a site called Kachra Kundi in the Sindh area. Upon telling him of Thaakats projects and our current partnership

Haider during his visit to Chi- He learned of Idara Al-

and leads Fatimid Foundation greatly inspired by it, his

and wondered if he had heard hot, humid, there were kites

motivated to improve and of the organizathese people found Idara Al-Khairs work in

with Idara Al-Khair Welfare Society in building a new school for the children of Kachra Kundi, his eyes lit up as he began recalling his personal experiences of visiting

Marching Forward With Thaakat

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Introducing Rookie of the Year, Omar Salim

(Originally published by Omar Salim. See the full article here.)

that same friend came back to say she had just gotten word that the boy had passed away. The sort of eeriness that set in within moments was something that I cannot find the words to describe. For the first time in my life I felt utterly helpless at helping someone. It just did not make any sense to me. Growing up I always lived by the idea that I could do anything I set my mind to, but why is it that this time, that opportunity was taken away?

ing humble in the process. For so long I had planned the ways I would help the world, but all these dreams seemed to be post-career aspirations with nothing in the immediate future. The passing of boy in need of a transplant was, as shameful as it sounds, the exact life altering reminder that we can only live in the present. It was a harsh realization that at age 20, I still hadnt accomplished nearly what I wanted to, despite the capability.

rest is history. A year later I find myself on the national board, coordinating local campaigns and events, all while laughing along the ride. Its been a year thats opened my eyes to the impact one person with a vision can make; add a few believers and theres nothing that can stop you. My past year with Thaakat, as clich as it sounds, has opened doors I never knew existed and friends I dont know how I ever did without. I can only wish that you all find a cause that can completely submerge yourself in. I was blessed enough to find mine and theres absolutely no turning back.

Exactly one year ago this month, I stumbled into one of the most life changing decisions I have ever made. A friend of mine contacted me about a marrow registration drive for a boy in need of a transplant. I assumed it was just slightly different than a blood drive, no big deal, and committed to being at the drive the following Sunday. Within a matter of minutes

With a desire to make some sort of contribution to that Growing up I was taught boy, I tracked down the orthat the only way to achieve ganization holding that success is through helping marrow registration driveothers and always remainThaakat Foundation. The

Thaakat Chapters Around the Nation: Whats New

Thaakat Atlanta: Held Will You Be My Thaakat? event to make valentine cards for victims of domestic violence. Thaakat Baruch: Planning underway for some new events! a-Thon for Plumpynut. Illini Thaakat: Teamed up with KASA for a Bone Marrow Registration and registered 150 individuals! Thaakat Loyola: Leading efforts to obtain a new board on campus! Thaakat Rutgers Newark: Planning for a Hoops for Education event to benefit Darkness to Light, an independent school project, in Larkana, Pakistan. Thaakat TCNJ: Volunteered at a Nepalese refuge eye-camp. Thaakat UIC: Held a Valentines Day Fundraising Bake Sale and holding a One City, One Food Drive to end hunger in Chicago. Thaakat Bradley: Hosted Cleaning for a Meaning clothing drive.

Thaakat Florida: Plan- Northwestern University Thaning for Thaakats Got akat: Prepared and served Talent this semester. meals to over 100 people at a local church. Thaakat Houston: Held a Flash Freeze in Thaakat Rutgers New partnership with their Brunswick: Planning for the MSA to raise awareLive, Laugh, & Learn show. ness for their 5K Walk-

Volume 1: Issue 4

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Thaakat Tumbls into Social Media

Thaakats most recent addition to the social media platforms is a Tumblr site, created and maintained by Nudrat Zoha. mote their organization and I thought to myself, "Why not Thaakat!?". I looked up different ways to make our Tumblr attractive and different from other organizations. I realized what sets Thaakat apart is how we interact with our followers using powerful pictures and videos, and decided that would be a perfect stage to display Thaakat's achievements. Because of it's popularity, Tumblr can be an excellent tool for Thaakat in spreading more awareness and letting more people know what we're really about. Facebook reports that 600 million users log in each month and half of them return each day! Twitter stats report there are over 100 million active users. These sites can be used to spread an idea, promote an event for fundraising or raise awareness on an issue that people may not necessarily even know about. The lesson to take from all these numbers is that people want to be connected and that means nonprofit organizations have to explore different avenues of staying connected. Check out the Thaakat Tumblr: http:// thaakat.tumblr.com

In speaking to Nudrat on how the idea generated, this is what she has to say: I recently came across Tumblr and was amazed by how many nonprofit organizations were using it as a platform to pro-

This new addition got me to thinking about how the nonprofit world should be using social media. The Nonprofit Social Network Survey conducted a survey including about 11,000 nonprofit professionals from all nonprofit segments. They reported that 9 out of 10 (89%) nonprofits reported having a presence on Facebook in 2011 while 57% reported a presence on Twitter. Other commercial social networking giants include YouTube (47%), LinkedIn (30%) and Flickr (19%).

Caryns Fight for Thaakat With Thaakat Atlanta

Caryn Dreibelbis is a student at Oglethorpe University and a part of our Thaakat Atlanta team. Here is a little snippet from her about an awesome fundraising project she has taken on herself! About one month ago I received an amazing opportunity to compete in a college fight night for a cause! Obviously, I had to pick ours! So I waited and waited for the votes and we are one of the 5 charities that will be represented at this fight night. Each boxer will choose to represent a charity. My fight will be on April 19th and I have a fundraising goal of $1,500. The winner of the fight takes all. This is a huge and wonderful opportunity so I thought I would reach out to you all as I take on this endeavor. Please consider leading the way in donations and also just emotional support would be amazing! Thaakat Foundation has been a wonderful addition to my life and Im so happy to get the opportunity to represent this organization. Here is the link to Caryns PayPal account: http:// tinyurl.com/6wafa2n We are so excited to have Caryn fight for Thaakat and we wish you all the best, Caryn!

Chapter Highlight: Illini Thaakat

The Illini Thaakat Team has been having a great start to 2012 with a busy schedule and many successful events! Id like to share some highlights about this chapter and its recent events. In early February they held a Bowling-Popcorn social titled Unlimited Bowling! Unlimited Popcorn! Unlimited Thaakat!. The event was a huge success and by the looks of it, members definitely had a ton of fun. For Valentines Day, the members visited Heartland Health Care Center to spend time with the elderly and spread joy to those who need it most. Members made cards and played trivia with the elderly. Most recently , ITF undertook a new mission: Find a Match for Andrew Park. They partnered up with the Korean American Student Association and hosted their first Bone Marrow Registration Drive at KASAs annual basketball tournament. In only two days, ITF registered 150 individuals!! That is so completely incredible and I can only imagine the hope that it gives Andrew. I had the pleasure to speak to CoPresidents Shahvar Hussain and Hajera Azam and I wanted to know one thing: what is their Thaakat? Hajera says, My dad is my rock. He has always taught me to stay positive and to give without even thinking. Shahvar says, Our Thaakat is having several committed, hardworking and passionate people on our team. Seeing each others' passion at every meeting and event really motivates us all to perform better all the time. Our Thaakat comes from everyone putting their 'thaakat' into our local and global causes. Keep up the great work Illini Thaakateers, you truly bring out the thaakat in all of us!

Our Very Own Uzma Bawany-Ali, 40 Under 40

(Originally published by Thaakat Foundation on 2/6/12. See the full article here.)

Thaakat Foundations Executive Director, Uzma Bawany -Ali was voted as one of the top 40 In- When we asked Uzma her

spirational Muslims under the age of 40! An anonymous voter nominated Uzma last December and MBMuslima selected her for the running to be in their Top 40 list! It came as no surprise to have her win the #11 spot. We are so proud of you Uzma! Congratulations! Thank you to each and every one of you who graciously voted and believed in Thaakat!

thoughts on winning, she responded, I was absolutely delighted, not only to make it into the top but to even be nominated. Its a special thing when you work towards something with so much dedication and there are people around you watching you and cheering you on. I know that I cant get through my every day and reach my goals if it werent for every single person around us that supports

the team and every other person around me working to achieve their dreams- it inspires me. Thank you to the person who, with all of their sincerity put me on the ballot for this, to MB Muslima for this great platform and to everyone who continues to support the cause every day. I consider this an honor and win for our entire team who works tirelessly towards creating positive change!. See the issue online here.