A Successful Human Development Foundation of North America Fundraiser
The Human Development Foundation of North America held its annual fundraiser at the Sheraton Cerritos Hotel in Cerritos recently. The presence of the movers and shakers of the community in large numbers at the fundraiser testified to the community’s support for HDF and its sustained drive for improving the lot of the underprivileged people of Pakistan. The select group of community members readily raised money to support various projects of HDF in all the four provinces of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir.
The Human Development Foundation of North America (HDF) is an IRC 501(c) 3, non-profit organization registered and based in Illinois. HDF partners with communities in under-served areas to bring a positivesocio-economic change in the lives of the underprivileged residents of these communities in Pakistan. HDF was founded in 1997 when a group of passionate Pakistani-American expatriates came together and decided it was time to give back to the country. From a small beginning, HDF has grown briskly: a staff totaling 700 is gainfully engaged in the four provinces of Pakistan in various projects of the Foundation.
The fundraiser proceedingscommenced with a recitation from the Holy Qur’an and its English translation by Mohammad Akbar. The emcee, Dr Imran Qasim, moved the program smoothly and excelled in the task assigned to him.
The opening remarks were presented by Dr Yasmin Qasim who had once again brought the leading lights of the community to the event. They included Syed Javaid Anwar, Mr Azher Hameed, Dr Syed Rahman, Ahsan Khan (Pakistani TV and movie actor), and Dr Naheed M Qayyum, Chairperson of HDF, who made a passionate appeal for help with a slide show of HDF activities in different provinces of Pakistan. She showed how the donations are being fruitfully utilized in helping over a million underprivileged people to educate boys and girls in the poorest areas, provide healthcare in 9 health centers, extend small business micro loans for creating self-sufficient families, build water filtration plants to meet the water needs of villagers, etc.
In a span of 20 plus years HDF has an impressive number of achievements to its credit. It has established adult literacy centers for women, built schools for underprivileged boys and girls, health care centers in the rural areas of the country and many infrastructure projects that sustain and improve the lives of villagers. The Foundation continues to enable people help themselves by working in the most remote areas of Pakistan, and, most importantly,making people realize their potential for bettering their own lives.
This year’s Keynote Speaker, Mr Azher Hameed, emphasized the need for educating children for a better future of the country and requested the audience to donate generously.
TheChief Guest, Mr Syed Javaid Anwar, is a renowned philanthropist and a Pakistani-American businessman who has made a great name for himself in the American Oil and Gas industry. Mr Anwar is an iconic figure and greatly admired in the community for his outstanding successes as a businessman, community leader, and a philanthropist. A man of integrity who believes in honesty, education, and hard work, Mr Anwar feels that no matter how much or how little each one of us has, we should be generous and inclined to help others. As always, Mr Anwar made a generous contribution to HDFthat evening.
This year’s special entertainer, Mr Ahsan Khan, TV and movie actor, made the occasion very special and exciting with his presence and the ladies in the event particularly enjoyed meeting and taking pictures with him.
The guests who were sponsors and made generous donations of $2,500 to $10,000 included Mr Syed Javaid Anwar, Mr Azher Hameed, Dr Mohammad Abdul Majeed, Mr Navaz and Fauzia Malik, Mr Salim and Yasmeen Adaya and Dr Imdad and Parveen Ahmed. Others present also made donations ranging from $100 to $2,000.
Dr Yasmin Qasim and the HDF team have successfully organized HDF fundraisers in Southern California for the last 10 years and each occasion has turned out to be a memorable one. This year’s event was also very successful and the HDF team of Parveen Ahmed, Aisha Bajwa, Dr. Naushaba Butt, Raheela Mahmood and Abida Ahmed are to be duly commended for their efforts. Congrats are due to Dr Qasim for her leadership qualities and continued support for HDF. Parveen Ahmed was prominent in organizing and sponsoring the event.
The guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner catered by Mr Dara Khan of Shahnawaz Restaurant.
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