As Salaamu Alaikum, Dear Community Members and Friends.
Alhamdulillah, just yesterday, CAIR-SFBA and the Yaseen Burlingame Center were happy to celebrate the graduating class of the first Bay Area iteration of the Muslim Gamechangers Network program. Students, joined by their families and program facilitators celebrated the successful completion of the 12-week social justice training program at a graduation ceremony hosted at the Center.
Program participants hailed from high schools across the Bay Area including Capuchino High School, Carlmont High School, Averroes High School, Fremont High School, and various other locations.
From August 2015 to October 2015, the students attended weekly interactive sessions hosted at the Yaseen Burlingame Center to learn the tools that will equip them to become better community advocates and leaders. They examined and learned about various subjects including: American Muslim history, deconstructing and combating stereotypes, the concepts of power and privilege, economic justice and injustice, organizing a political campaign, building coalitions, and engaging government and media outlets effectively. They received training from leading activists and community leaders from across the San Francisco Bay Area, including:
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus
- Bay Area News Group
- Coalition on Homelessness
- Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network
- Timelist Group
- Zaytuna College
CAIR-SFBA would like to thank the Yaseen Burlingame Center for hosting the program, and helping with the curriculum development which was piloted by the CAIR-Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA) office and the Islamic Center of Irvine (ICOI) in 2014.
We are also very appreciative of the donors who helped make this program possible through their support of CAIR-SFBA during #SVGives, and the dedicated students who came back week after week to learn and grow together.
Please join us at our 21st anniversary dinner on Saturday, November 7th, as we celebrate our accomplishments and look forward to continuing the expansion of our youth programs through your support and participation.
Sincerely,
Spojmie Nasiri, Esq.
President, CAIR-SFBA
Lucy Porras
Programs & Development Coordinator, CAIR-SFBA
