14 May 2009
Arab-American Service Day Now in Fifth Year
Thousands to participate in community engagement through volunteerism
Washington — “People who love their country can change it,” President Obama said in a recent speech. Community service is an American value, especially evident in the Arab-American community. A National Arab American Service Day will be held May 16 in cities throughout the United States.
The purpose is to foster leadership and community engagement through volunteerism and service. Thousands of Arab Americans around the country will join with friends and family to serve those outside of the Arab-American community.
The event is organized and supervised by the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC).
Taleb Salhab, NNAAC director, told America.gov that the main goal of the group is to empower the Arab-American voice through cooperation and teamwork with other service organizations at the state level and nationally, as well as to encourage and promote Arab Americans for national and social service.
“This is the fifth year continuously to hold the annual National Arab American Service Day and simultaneously all over the U.S.,” Salhab said. “There are about 3,000 volunteers willing to serve society and build bridges with other communities and to present a positive image of the Arab-American community.”
The NNAAC is a project of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS).
ACCESS is a national network of independent Arab-American, community-based social service organizations. The network’s primary mission is the development of grass-roots institutions that can meet the needs of and represent the concerns of Arab Americans at the local level and collectively raise such concerns on the national stage.
Salhab also described National Arab-American Advocacy Week and talked about its objectives. On April 22–24, some 15 representatives from ACCESS and NNAAC met in Washington for the first National Arab American Advocacy Week, which the groups plan to hold annually. They met with members of Congress and White House staff, as well as with a State Department official.
They discussed topics such as immigration reform, racial profiling and the importance of national service programs. NNAAC members were briefed on relevant topics, given updates on current legislation, and offered advice on how to advocate for these issues. They also discussed community issues and promoted the National Arab American Service Day.
“This was a historic event for NNAAC and ACCESS,” Salhab said. “Never before have NNAAC members from across the country come to Washington, D.C., to collaborate with our national partners, including the Arab-American Institute, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and advocate on behalf of the issues facing Arab Americans on a daily basis. We look forward to building on its success.” In addition, the trip helped to establish a stronger presence in Washington for Arab-American organizations, setting an important precedent for future visits by other members of the community.
Community service is at the fore of the American agenda.
In his efforts to promote voluntary service, President Obama signed a $5.7 billion national service bill that will triple the size of the AmeriCorps program over the next eight years. He also signed into law a sweeping expansion of national service that will engage millions of Americans in addressing local needs through volunteer service.
President Obama, in remarks at the signing of that bill, said, “That’s the beauty of service. Anybody can do it. You don’t need to be a community organizer, a senator, a Kennedy or even a president to bring changes to people’s lives.” (See “Remarks by Obama at Signing of Edward Kennedy Serve America Act.”)
“I wouldn’t be standing here today if not for the service of others or for the purpose that service gave my own life,” Obama said. “I wasn’t just helping people; I was receiving something in return. Through service, I found a community that embraced me, citizenship that was meaningful, the direction that I had been seeking.”
