Arab American students receive scholarships for commitment to community

Four Arab American students were recently awarded scholarships from the Michigan-based Community Choice Credit Union Foundation. Nadeen Dakhlallah (top), Mohamed Ghandour (top), Zied Shammout (bottom), and Noor Shammout (bottom) have committed to stay in Michigan for their college education and to give back to their communities. All four scholars join a network of 101 Community Choice Scholars who are helping to end “brain drain” in Michigan, a state which has seen the largest loss of its college-educated population over the last decade.

All four of the students plan to pursue healthcare degrees, and foresee making a great impact in the community through their future careers. For more on these scholars, please visit the CCCU website. We at the Center for Arab American Philanthropy offer our congratulations and wish you all the best of luck!

Diane Rehm and Marwan Abouljoud named Arab Americans of the Year

CAAP is pleased to announce that journalist Diane Rehm and surgeon Dr. Marwan Abouljoud have been named Arab Americans of the Year by ACCESS, CAAP’s parent organization. They will be honored at the prestigious 42nd Annual ACCESS Anniversary Dinner on Saturday, April 27 in Detroit, Mich.

Diane Rehm hosts The Diane Rehm Show on WAMU in Washington D.C. The program is distributed nationally by National Public Radio. In 30 years as host of the program, Rehm has interviewed a long list of notables, including then-Sen. Barack Obama, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Nobel Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. In 2000, she became the first radio talk show host to interview a sitting president (Clinton) in the Oval Office.

As director of the Transplant Institute at Henry Ford Hospital, Dr. Marwan Abouljoud has led transplant surgery at Henry Ford to national and international recognition. He was born in Beirut in 1960, one of seven children. During the civil war there he was a medical volunteer, assisting in caring for the wounded. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the American University of Beirut and completed his surgical residency at the University of Michigan and Henry Ford Hospital. He did his transplant fellowship at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, and at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

Click here to purchase individual tickets for the ACCESS dinner online. For sponsorship information contact Rose Asi at 313-842-4749 or click here for more information.

The philanthropic legacy of the Olympics is both obvious (such as the Special Olympics that provide sports training for people with intellectual disabilities) and not immediately apparent. Fundamentally, the Olympics serve to inspire people around the world to play competitive sports and strive for excellence in our lives - as well as inspire loyalty to our home countries.

Playing sports has been shown to improve mental and physical health, reduce crime and bring communities together. Our own Teen Grantmaking Initiative recently distributed funds to several sports-oriented charities that serve youth in the Detroit metropolitan region.

Sports often inspire charitable contributions, as shown by a bet on tennis great Roger Federer’s recent Wimbledon win that ensured the charity Oxfam received a $157,000 donation. Even after major sports events reach their conclusion, many athletes partner with charities, and even start their own foundations to benefit causes that are important to them. By following sustainable practices, athletes wishing to donate through a foundation can keep giving back in perpetuity. This is evident in the legacies of foundations such as Livestrong, founded by Olympic cyclist Lance Armstrong, which has raised millions of dollars for cancer causes.

What begins with a worldwide event such as the Olympic Games often has a trickle-down effect that positively impacts communities for years to come. How will the 2012 Olympic Games inspire you to do more to give back?

Meanwhile, we’ll be cheering for swimmer Katya Bachrouche (Michigan), and sibling fencers Mona & Zain Shaito (Texas) as they represent Arab Americans and compete for the gold in London!

Related articles

• Sport for good: London’s Olympic legacy (Alliance)
• Arab League: A unique look at the Middle East’s aspiring women Olympians (Foreign Policy)
• Her participation will stun, inspire (Fox Sports)

Photo courtesy Brigitte Lacombe

Raising Money From Arab Americans - Recap

This past Tuesday, Nov 15, National Philanthropy Day, CAAP was very proud to participate in a Chronicle of Philanthropy discussion highlighting how organizations can target their fundraising towards Arab American donors. It was an honor for CAAP to connect with a national audience directly to answer questions about Arab American philanthropy.

Participants in the discussion included CAAP Advisory Board member Wadad Abed, as well as Jeanette Mansour, adviser to CAAP and program consultant at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. More than 65 people, including representatives from ISPU and the Headwaters Group, tuned in to the live discussion to ask questions, post comments, and learn more about Arab American philanthropy from our experts.

Some of the questions raised included inquiries about giving patterns, culturally sensitive cause marketing, religious distinctions, the presence of family/community foundations and cultural traditions. To read the discussion transcript, click here.