With a knack for shopping for deals and a passion for helping brothers and sisters in need, the women behind the Share the Warmth Collection for Syria initiative were able to fill a 20 foot shipping container with warm blankets, jackets and winter clothing.
?For two months, we shopped for blankets, socks and hats,? says organizer Laurie Jaghlit. Looking for savings is a favorite pastime, and Jaghlit collected money and shopped for good deals, stretching her charity dollars.
With harsh winter temperatures fast approaching, Murat Kose of Zakat Foundation did not want to waste time and the shipment was sent to Syria on November 6, 2014 with a call for volunteers to load the container going out overnight.
Jaghlit gave a special thank you to the Zakat Foundation for covering the shipping costs and distribution, to the unnamed sister in Ashburn for arranging a wonderfully successful house party to collect items, and to all those who gave at the ADAMS collection site and at the Dar Al-Hijrah table on Fridays. Used things that were donated were sent to the Dar Al-Hijrah thrift store and the FAITH thrift store.
Also active in the project were Girl Scouts from the Ashburn area who came to the Jaghlit home to help pack the boxes and the 6th grade girls at Washington International Academy who organized a school-wide collection. ?Both groups of young women really made me proud of our future generation!? noted Jaghlit. ?It is always nice to have kids involved in service projects.?
Jaghlit thanked Allah for wonderful friends and the strength to take on projects like this one and for helping her to see them through to the end.
Jaghlit is currently looking into the next Share the Warmth project to provide basic needs to 400 Palestinian orphan refugees in a camp in Jordan. The plan is to work with United Muslim Relief to send a year?s worth of supplies, including clothes. This time she plans on working with the Boys Leadership group at the Washington International Academy.
She is getting great deals on summer items and utilizing coupons. At the suggestion of many she checked prices overseas and confirmed that she is getting better quality items for less here. ?It shows that we care, that we give them what we would give our own family,? she says.
Jaghlit and her friends plan on doing a shopping for a cause seminar in the near future, to help donors make their charity money go further by knowing where and when to shop. If you are interested in helping please email Sr Laurie directly at SharingWarmth@gmail.com
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