I've had a lot of things going on: community events; youth events; work; and personal things. I've kept busy and tried to have a bigger role in things I'm involved in. I attribute all of this to one event last year that helped me in an indescribable way (and don't know how much I could have accomplished had I not attended that event).
As folks may or may not know, I had the experience of a
lifetime when I went to a leadership retreat held by the Young Muslim Athletic
Association (YMAA) for four days. The leadership retreat challenged me in many
ways: overcoming my fears; breaking routine; and looking inside myself deeply
to understand my potential. I also wrote a blog on my experience, which can be found here:
This year, I’ve been given the opportunity to go again in
the role of an Angel. As an Angel; I will have many tasks; this includes recruiting participants (which has already been completed); help in organizing & running the retreat; promote/market
the retreat; and most importantly...(wait for it)...(wait for it)....FUNDRAISING!
As an Angel, one of my biggest tasks is to help in fundraising
towards our cost. To make the retreat affordable, participants were offered a subsidized cost of $200 to attend the retreat *actual cost $400). Due to this, we would fundraise to cover the remaining costs.
Now a potential donor (like yourself!) must be wondering, “What benefit do I get out of
this?” There are multiple benefits! Below are the three that I think would be
the most applicable:
- Financial benefit: a donor is entitled to a tax receipt for this!
- Low cost of investment, high reward: at a low cost, a donor would be helping to develop the leaders of tomorrow – leaders in the community, at work, at school, and life in general!
- Investing in me!: the donor will be helping me in multiple ways; not only financially, but helping me develop my skills further by being able to go to this retreat in the role of an Angel!
After last year’s retreat, I was able to accomplish quite a
few things:
- I remained an active member on the Masumeen Youth Committee (a religious youth committee in Brampton)
- I gave a couple of insightful speeches at the Masumeen Islamic Centre (located in Brampton)
- I wrote an article for a magazine called Jaffari News
- I remained a part of “The Voice” team at work (where our team looks to overcome challenges face by our co-workers in our department)
- I helped launch the “Stand4Hussain” hot chocolate event (where free hot chocolate was handed out in downtown Toronto) & even got interviewed by OMNI News!
So what do I hope to develop this year? Three main things:
- Locus of control: I want to develop a higher internal locus of control, where I hold myself and my actions responsible for the outcomes. It’s easy to blame outside factors for any shortcomings. It’s much harder to look deep into yourself, understand what your weaknesses are, and find ways to work on them and improve yourself. I want to improve and develop my weaknesses while building on strengths to overcome my shortcomings
- Mentoring: As an angel, I will have the opportunity to mentor participants this year. This is a valuable skill that can help me in many situations – at work with my colleagues (and even in a supervisor position); with my friends & family; and in the community where I volunteer.
- Building networks: Networking is a key aspect in many aspects of life. Overall, I hope to build more networks so that I can have more opportunities in the future to continuously develop my skills.
With the assistance/donations, I know I accomplish all
three of these goals and be a leader within the various facets of my life!
We are also looking for small businesses to help in sponsoring the event (and in turn, YMAA would help to advertise for the business). The deadline for a small business to sponsor is rapidly approaching (this upcoming Friday, April 19th 2013).
We are also looking for small businesses to help in sponsoring the event (and in turn, YMAA would help to advertise for the business). The deadline for a small business to sponsor is rapidly approaching (this upcoming Friday, April 19th 2013).
If you are interested (either as a personal donor or as a small business sponsor), please email me at m.z.salehmohamed@gmail.com as soon as possible! Attached is also a picture of the various packages for business sponsorships. Thanks folks!
