MAS Youth Give

On a recent Sunday morning this Ramadan (Sep. 16th to be exact) I helped with our second yearly run of MAS Youth Give Project CommUNITY. Read more about the project below.

(p.s. I wrote this article in like 5 minutes as I was sitting bored at work) ---

Click here for the slideshow: http://www.masyouth.net/default.aspx?siteId=44
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What do you do on a Sunday morning? Watch cartoons, sleep in, go out for brunch? For some people, the need to give back to the community took precedence on one Sunday morning. Nearly 30 volunteers convened at the Islamic Center of Passaic County on Sunday, Sep 16th. They were not deterred by the harsh sun or their grumbling stomachs. These volunteers were all motivated by Project CommUNITY 2007. Now it it's second year, Project CommUNITY was started by MAS Youth Give in New Jersey, under the guidance of Areeg Abbassi, former head of MAS Youth Give. As they sat down for Iftar last Ramadan, taking in the sight of a table full of fruits, dates, and everyone's favorite foods, they knew in their hearts "not everyone is this fortunate." Project CommUNITY was created as way to help Muslim families across New Jersey. MYG volunteers collected several thousands dollars for Project CommUNITY from friends and family. This money was used towards some of the goods in the baskets, although most of the goods were donated or given at discounted prices from local businesses. MYG volunteers worked with masjids in Newark, Paterson and Jersey City, to discreetely distribute baskets to families who needed a little help. These baskets contained rice, olive oil, dates, milk, bread and vouchers for nearly $100 worth of meat at local meat stores.
Project CommUNITY would like to thank the following businesses for their support and generosity:
Baraka Grocery and Deli - Paterson, NJ
Fattals Syrian Bakery - Paterson, NJ
Unity Halal Meat - Newark, NJ
A.K. Market - Paterson, NJ
Paradise Wholesale - Paterson, NJ

My First Blog Ever..and maybe my last

Disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever claimed to be a writer. If you've read some of the incredible blogs out there, let it be known that this is where it stops. My blog will mostly consist of bakwaas, things I want to write for no other reason that because I am probably sitting somewhere bored.

As I'm writing this I'm listening to the newsroom chatter about a reporter here at News12 being kicked out of a meeting at a public school. It's at moments like this when people start spewing journalistic ideals...freedom of the press...freedom of speech...people's right to know...the truth will prevail. I love these ideals. I believe the reason I went into television is because I believe that these ideals (henceforth referred to as these powers) DO EXIST IN TELEVISION.

I find the title of my blog humorous...I went through several years of studying "journalism"...followed by several years of what I call "slave work"... actually I still am a slave..working terrible hours for terrible pay. So does that make me a journalist? Perhaps spending tens of thousands of dollars and going against my fathers wishes do? On that thought, I don't think we would have ever come to an agreement on any chosen path.

Journalist is such a catch all phrase really. It can be someone who seeks out stories, someone who goes out and interviews people, someone standing in on the roof of a building in a war zone reporting on the scene, someone who runs out shooting things with a camera, someone who takes other people's stories and rewrites them, or someone who sits at a desk and read off a television screen.

For me the ideal journalist does all of the above. That's what I hope to do, except the on screen part of it. Maybe if I was better looking...haha.

After weeks of talking about working in television, conferring with higher up, months spent looking for that "perfect job" and realizing it's not out there, I have decided to stick with journalism (against what some, inluding me, may believe to be my better judgement).

This much I know : I'll never really make money. But I hope to find contentment in what I do in other ways.

Keep me in your duas.

Sameera