Urgent Please Read: Official Statement
Nahda Designs
I pray this finds you all in the best of health and happiness, may God bless you with peace and prosperity. I would like to first thank you all for your kind words of encouragement and support you have shown me throughout the years.
As the founder and CEO of Nahda Designs, God has blessed me with the ability to give back to the community that raised me. From sponsoring scarves to support MSA events such as Hijab Day Challenges on California campuses to donating prizes to the young students who won the regional and national Muslim Spelling Bee championships. Through Nahda Designs, I founded Relief on the Runway, a fashion platform that gathers an audience together to raise funds for those in need from the East African Famine Crisis in 2011 to the Syrian Orphans in 2012, our latest efforts this past September helped benefit a women's shelter in Jamaica, New York in 2013.
With every show we always aim to give back from our proceeds, unfortunately last September we did not recover our costs so it became the first time we were unable to give back. We encouraged our attendees to donate directly to the cause and we ourselves personally pledged to donate the amount we had initially hoped to raise. God willing in 2014, my family will be donating $20,000 at the very least to last year's charity.
While we continue to recover by paying back the costs associated with last year's production out of pocket, we are also continuing to produce fashion events across the US and around the world. Relief on the Runway in previous years was too dependent on outside sponsorships, after much analysis and reflection we have finally decided to accept the assistance of investors to help us take our vision to the next level. We are happy to inform our supporters that we have been joined officially by a new CEO with a degree in Business Management who brings with him his marketing expertise as well as production management experience working with reputable charity organizations for over 10 years. We are blessed to also be joined by the producers behind DC Fashion Week's Haute & Modesty showcase, Areej Fashions.
In 2014, we plan to continue to help our brothers and sisters struggling to make ends meet here in the USA. Our goal is to create a Non-Profit organization that can aid the building of transitional shelters for families who have lost their homes and who have had to live and sleep in their cars or on the streets. We want families to stay together and we aim to help them get back on their feet. We would like to see at least one shelter in every city across America.
State run shelters are not safe for our sisters and their children, and women's shelters have limited space and many in need are sent away if they don't have available beds. We have a lot of work to do, but our hearts remain dedicated to helping those in need.
Relief on the Runway 2014 will be hosting 2 fundraising events in NYC and LA in 2014 to see this new project come to life.
More Information
To read more about our last event, "Intercontinental Fashion Week," please visit: www.reliefontherunway.com.
Your continued support and your prayers are greatly appreciated.
God bless you for always supporting my humble efforts to give back to the community that raised me.
Sincerely,
Suraya Mahumed
Executive Director
Relief on the Runway
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