Dear friends,
Although February is the shortest month of the year, we kept busy here at ACCESS! Please allow me to share some other updates from the month with you.
On February 6, we were thrilled to learn from Clubhouse International that the ACCESS Hope House received their full 3-year Accreditation with no conditions! Congratulations to Supervisor Ghinwah Karkaba and her team’s commitment to excellence and a strong, rehabilitative environment for our community members.
On February 8, the Arab American National Museum (AANM) hosted the first installment of an in-person film series titled Cinema Nights at the Museum. This month, AANM screened the Mauritanian film, Soleil O. Attendees were grateful to have a space that uplifted the Mauritanian identity.
On February 13, our Development team organized a Painting for Recovery event in support of the ACCESS Recovery Center, a state-of-the-art substance use disorder treatment facility that will offer a comprehensive array of services, from prevention to treatment, from recovery to re-entry into the community and more.
On February 16, AANM welcomed John King and The Entropy String Quartet, who together presented a concert titled "FREE PALESTINE String Quartets" to a full house. Each work is titled based on the most prominent maqam (system of melodic modes) incorporated; and each reference one of the hundreds of Palestinian villages that were ethnically cleansed in 1948.
On February 22, the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) hosted a webinar titled Addressing Voter Apathy in Arab American Communities. 10 NNAAC member organizations and 30 participants joined to take part in a robust conversation with Rashad Al-Dabbagh, Executive Director of Arab American Civic Council, Nada Al-Hanooti, Senior Michigan Consultant of Emgage, and our own Shams Al-Badry, Civic Engagement Manager, on how to engage communities and address voter apathy.
On February 23, AANM’s artists-in-residence, LubDub Theatre Co., shared a reading of their work-in-progress, THE MAGIC BULLET. Co-commissioned by Pangea World Theatre in partnership with AANM, Noor Theatre and National Performance Network, this is a transdisciplinary performance about an ensemble of 7 contemporary artists trying to tell the story of a French colonial magic show that took place at Algiers’ Bab-Azoun Theatre in 1856.
On February 25, the Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) continued to expand its national reach and showcase the power of collective giving with its FIRST 100 Arab American Women Who Care event in Florida! Sixty women gathered in the Naples area, a beautiful mix of those already part of the CAAP community and those learning about CAAP for the first time. Collectively, they raised $9,000 to be granted to UNRWA USA.
On February 27, NNAAC staff and volunteers had 46,427 touchpoints around the MI 2024 presidential primary election, which included 40 election protection volunteers monitoring polling stations in Canton, Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Melvindale.
Thank you for your continued support of our work. I am so grateful to be able to share these regular updates with you. To learn more about what’s going on at ACCESS, please visit our website: https://www.accesscommunity.org, and follow us online:
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Love,
Maha
Maha Freij
President & CEO
ACCESS
Connect with us | ACCESS |Arab American National Museum | Center for Arab American Philanthropy | National Network for Arab American Communities
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