STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – For this week’s Staten Island’s Best Dressed, featured are photos from the 8th Annual Recognition Event of the Bait-ul Jamaat House of Community, themed “Empowerment in Action: Resilience from Adversity.” The keynote speaker was Assemblymember Charles D. Fall.
The signature fundraiser was held on Saturday, Jan. 17, at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Livingston. Bait-ul Jamaat’s focus is to help the underserved families on Staten Island. According to their website, the organization was founded by five families in June 2015, originally conceived by Imam Zulqarnain Abdu Shahid, with the help of his wife, Jamilah LaSalle, the Associate Director of Richmond Senior Services, and Executive Director of Bait-ul.
“Honored at the fundraiser were individuals who have made positive impact on the community in their own neighborhoods where they live,” said LaSalle. “These awardees help strengthen the fabric of Staten Island as a whole and are our reason why we can accomplish this starting with our home base – Staten Island.
“Their continuous contribution to the community does not go unnoticed and we at Bait-ul Jamaat Inc. wanted to express our many thanks. This event will allow Bait-ul Jamaat to continue its mission in providing additional free services to the community at large.”
This year’s honorees were: Dr. Brahim Ardolic, Executive Director of Staten Island University Hospital; Dr. Aliyah Morgan, Muslim Peer Services; Najla Khass, Refugee Relief Coordinator/ICNA Relief; Antoinette Donegan, MAP Engagement Coordinator at Central Family Life Center; Mohamed Bahi, Community Liaison at NYC Mayors Office; Adama Bah, Immigrants’ Rights Advocate-Afrikana; and Tyrone Felder, Food Security Coordinator, Bait-ul Jamaat/ Marketing and Director of Angry Elephant Apparel.
This year’s guest speakers included: Imam Wesley Lebron, Director of Education, Muslim American Society, Brooklyn; Bibi Esahack, Executive Director of Bay Ridge Community Development Corporation; and Nicole Meyers, President of National Council of Negro Women, Staten Island.
ABOUT BAIT-UL JAMAAT HOUSE OF COMMUNITY
Bait-ul Jamaat House of Community is a community service organization, established by Muslims on Staten Island. The needs of the community are vast and require supportive services. Their mission is to provide food security and mental health awareness through arts, various activities, educational series and advocacy support, to the underserved families on Staten Island.
To date, their accomplishments have included feeding more than 76,862 families in the underserved areas and shelters on Staten Island, through their mobile food pantry and “Soup for the Soul” programs with the assistance of several restaurants and halal meat markets. They have also distributed more than 2,520 coats and winter warm essentials through coat drives and over 4,500 hygiene essential packages to the homeless and shelters in Staten Island, Manhattan, Bronx and internationally.
The group has also distributed more than 2,530 book bags and back to school supplies in Staten Island, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and New Jersey, and provided 457 families with mental health awareness through arts workshops utilizing tai chi, art, and drumming therapy.
