Day of Dignity - Detroit is a Success!
September 12, 2009 marked the fifth year of Detroit's involvement in the spirit lifting one day event called the "Day of Dignity (formally, Humanitarian Day). With Detroit having such high homeless and unemployment rates, having a Day of Dignity in Detroit is important for a multitude of reasons. First, an event like this brings awareness to the problem. Detroit has about 18,000 homeless any given day, with about 15,000 sleeping in the streets (vacant buildings, empty lots, etc.) Secondly, the Day of Dignity event offers the volunteers a vehicle to get involved. Often a person has the desire to be of help, but doesn’t know how to get involved. Finally, while we understand that a one day event is a very small effort in a very large problem, we believe that humanity is improved by these consistent small acts of compassion which is why we are committed to staying involved each year.
This year, the weather was perfect, the energy was high, the volunteers were awesome and our guests were even better! Just shy of our goal, we served over 800 guests with a variety of goods. Our guests (made up of Detroit's homeless, unemployed, working poor, and disabled population) were treated to lunch, school supplies, toys, coloring books, sweat-shirts, t-shirts, socks, bath cloths, hygiene packs (sponsored by Church of Latter Day Saints), health screenings (provided by the Huda Clinic), books, Islamic Relief tote bags, and other miscellaneous items.
We intend to get a jump on next years event by starting the planning even earlier. Insha-Allah, we will provide more goods and services to more guests making a greater impact! The Day of Dignity - Detroit thanks everyone who supported this event and especially our guests who allowed us the opportunity to improve our souls through serving them.
Jazakallah Ghirun.
- Camisha Ziyad El-Amin
Executive Director, MECCA Services
