Two faith groups — a Southern Baptist volunteer coalition and a Muslim group observing Ramadan — recently gathered to perform service projects designed to aid the community-at-large.
Muslim youths reach out to food bank
The eighth annual Ramadan Day of Service was held July 19 at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.
Adam Soltani, executive director-treasurer of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Oklahoma chapter, said his organization partnered with the Mercy School Youth Club in Oklahoma City and the Islamic Society of Tulsa Youth group for the community service effort.
About 140 people, including a large contingent from Tulsa, worked to sort canned goods, bag frozen foods and prepare food boxes as part of the project.
Soltani said the Ramadan Day of Service brings Muslims together for a project during the holy month of Ramadan.
Ramadan ends Monday, and observant Muslims will celebrate the month’s end with the Eid al-Fitr festival.
He said the joint venture also was part of CAIR’s “Oklahoma Muslims Care” campaign, which is designed to create community service opportunities for the state’s Muslims, allowing them to show their pride for Oklahoma by giving back to those in need.
Baptist students ‘bounce’ into action
About 200 volunteers visited Moore and Oklahoma City recently as part of the Bounce Student Disaster Recovery program sponsored by Texas Baptists. The volunteers — youth groups from Texas, New Mexico, Georgia and Oklahoma — helped repair structures damaged during the May 2013 tornadoes in Oklahoma, along with other projects.
As part of the effort, volunteers worked on the roofs of several churches and a child care center in Oklahoma City and Norman. The volunteer groups also worked on a park, as well as other projects in the Moore area.
David Scott, director of Bounce, said the organization partnered with local groups, particularly Serve Moore, to determine projects. He said Bounce had someone in each city who served as the construction coordinator.
Scott said the volunteer labor from the youth groups typically helps tremendously with rehabilitation costs for projects.
“We can make their rehab dollars or their funding go a lot further,” he said.