Day of Dignity 2010: Special Message from Karim Amin

It is that time of the year again! We are gearing up for Day of Dignity 2010. I first joined the Islamic Relief USA family in 2006 as a volunteer. Since then I have seen the growth of the Day of Dignity effort from serving a handful of cities to more than 22 cities nationwide this year. The spread of this event is exciting. Every year more and more local communities and volunteers join this national movement to assist their neighbors in need. The Day of Dignity event sites are very diverse and stretch from the busy streets of Brooklyn, New York to the wide plains of the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota.

Even though I am excited that people want to volunteer to help those in need, I want everyone to keep in mind that we must find a solution to reduce poverty. This is a large task. Currently I am working with a national interfaith group called Fighting Poverty with Faith, whose goal is to reduce the rate of poverty in the U.S. in half by 2020. When we meet, we talk a lot about the different factors that contribute to poverty.

We need many "streams" of assistance to reduce poverty, and Day of Dignity is one of those streams. Throughout the year we all must find different ways to take the idea of dignity for others and incorporate it in our daily lives. Everything from recycling a bottle to mentoring contributes to reducing poverty. Recycling helps to reduce the amount of trash that pile up in landfills that often are in the poorest areas around the world. Mentoring can help to guide a young man/woman to avoid decisions that lead to poverty.

Poverty isn't just about money, it is about a mindset. If we choose to expect that some people "have" to be poor and not a have access to quality livelihood, the problem will continue. But if we work together to uplift each other, we can have a Day of Dignity 365 days a year.

--Karim Amin, Domestic Programs Coordinator for IR USA