August 20, 2010

Dear CAMP Members and Supporters,

Assalamu Alaikum and Ramadan Mubarak!

This month our activities are very targeted towards this special month of Ramadan. Our only events this month are iftars, flood relief efforts and other community-service related events.

CAMP in July

Looking back, on July 21 and July 29, CAMP NY and CAMP Philadelphia welcomed the UK-foundedIman Insurance to the US by inviting Iman to talk about the benefits of their Islamic insurance products. Iman Insurance offers Shariah-compliant insurance products which are "halal" and thereby relevant to the Muslim community, but non-Muslims can also reap the benefits and feel good about investing their money in a socially-responsible product.  Iman Insurance was well received and engaged in riveting dialogue with CAMP members, answering questions and discussing the benefits both spiritually and economically of purchasing shariah-compliant insurance.  According to Saima Khan, CAMP-NY, Vice President, perhaps one of the best features of their company is their mission to give back 50% of their profits to local communities. CAMP Chicago will be hosting Iman at an upcoming Power Hour.

CAMP was also a partner for three very successful events: NYC: Sufi Festival, Pakistani Peace Buildersin Union Square on July 20; Philadelphia: the opening of the Annual Riyaadah Event on July 16; and Toronto: MuslimFest on July 31 and August 1.

CAMP’s Ramadan 2010 Efforts

In August, our Power Hours have been replaced with our very popular iftars in conjunction with our partner, Islamic Relief. CAMP’s major iftar weekend was August 13-15 – and all our fundraising efforts on behalf of Islamic Relief were targeted toward Pakistani Flood Relief.

CAMP Chicago (with Accenture and NAAP) and CAMP NYs’ sold out iftars were on August 13; CAMP Philadelphia and CAMP New Jersey’s 550-person iftar (and CAMP NJ launch) with Islamic Relief, MLINKand ISCJ was on August 14. CAMP Toronto’s iftar will be this weekend on August 22.

In total, we had over 750 people at our iftars on August 13 and 14, and we helped Islamic Relief raise over $125,000 for Pakistani Flood Relief.

If you would like to donate to Islamic Relief – please text the following keywords to 20222 to make a one-time $10 donation to the following campaigns: For Pakistan Flood Emergency - use the word “RELIEF”; for Ramadan Feed the Needy - use the word “RAMADAN”; and for Orphans Support - use the word “ORPHANS”. You can donate a maximum of 3 times a month.

Partner Events

Throughout Ramadan, we will be partnering on iftars with various organizations, and we will be involved with Pakistan flood relief and community service events:

CAMP Chicago – August 19 – Iftar in the Synagogue – Know thy Neighbor hosted by the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative

CAMP New York – August 20 – Volunteering at IC at NYU/Park51 iftar; August 28 – CAMP Volunteers at Muslim Hunger Soup Kitchen.

CAMP Philadelphia – August 22 – CAMP volunteers at Islamic Relief/CAIR PA’s Day of Dignity.

CAMP Toronto – September 4 – Iftar of Intent with Islamic Relief – Fundraiser for Pakistan Flood Victims

CAMP National Initiatives

1. Strategic Partnerships - We will be partnering with a variety of aligned organizations on initiatives that benefit and leverage Muslim professionals. One such partnership is with Upwardly Global. Upwardly Global is a resource for immigrant professionals seeking jobs in the US market with chapters in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. CAMP NY volunteered for its first UG event on July 17, a mock interview session. CAMP NY had 12 volunteers (out of a total of 24 volunteers). Upwardly Global would like us to volunteer on a regular basis and is having similar conversations with CAMP Chicago.

2. Affinity Networks - We are working on structuring a Muslim Entrepreneur’s Network and a job seekers platform. We are sorry for the delay please stay tuned for more information.

Pakistan Flood Relief Efforts

As many of you know, Pakistan is in the midst of the worst humanitarian crisis in its history, and the worst global humanitarian crisis of 2010.

"I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today." - UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, August 15, 2010

CAMP would like to bring your attention to a new initiative to promote awareness and provide information on the Pakistan floods. We are community partners for an initiative called: Pakistan: Flood Action NOW

Please become a P-FAN on facebook and follow P-FAN on twitter @floodaction

P-FAN was created on August 14, 2010 by a group of concerned citizens just like you. P-FAN is our heartfelt response to the disastrous floods and related suffering in Pakistan.

We are dedicated to acting as a strategic communications portal for all our P-FANs. P-FAN wants to help raise awareness, promote fund raising efforts, share critical information and put forth information on relief organizations and efforts in response to this humanitarian crisis. We want to create the biggest network of concerned citizens we can because the affected in Pakistan need our voices, our words, our actions, our assistance - now and in the days, weeks and months to come.

We hope to get a large national/international fan base on facebook - so that we can coordinate and disseminate critical information (events, news related to flood relief) in a timely manner to as many people as possible. Our goal is to reach beyond Pakistanis - to everyone. This is a major humanitarian crisis and it requires world exposure and support now!

This is our CALL TO ACTION.

We sincerely hope you will ANSWER IT. 

PLEASE JOIN US! 20 Million people in Pakistan are depending on us - ALL OF US - together.

Our goal is10,000 fans by August 27 - InshAllah.

Visit our fan page and be a P-FAN. Donate, get involved and tell others what you are doing for Pakistan flood relief.

If you have any questions please email us at pakistanfloodwatch@gmail.com

For more information or to contact us regarding any of these initiatives, please email us at info@camp-online.org.

If you haven’t already, please: 1) join our email list, 2) become our fans on Facebook, 3) join our 1200+ person group on Linked In, 4) follow us on Twitter, and 5) tell FIVE more Muslim professionals about CAMP!

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Zeba Iqbal