Washington Moroccan Club's 20^th Anniversary

Stuff -A- Truck

Coinciding with the Washington Moroccan Club’s (WMC) 20th Anniversary, WMC is asking the community to donate gently used clothing, shoes, infant items and school supplies to fill a cargo container
destined for Morocco.

Chairs and Contacts:
Touria Bernoussi : tbernoussi@gmail.com 
Aicha Bensaid: Aichabensaid57@hotmail.com 
Hnia Amal: kadernia@yahoo.com

 "Weekend Donation Event"

 To Benefit "Container of Care: Destination Morocco!"
www.WMC20.org 

Clean out your closets and tell your friends to send "a Container of Care" to Morocco's neediest families. 

We are accepting new or gently used clothes, shoes and targeting educational, sports and supplies for elderly, sick and handicapped people in Morocco.

Education/Libraries/Technology

• New/like new dictionaries
• Elementary/ beginners English books
• Elementary Grammar/phonics/ABC books
• Markers/sharpies/pencils/pens and highlighters
• Backpacks
• Binders/notebooks
• Index cards/ Composition books
• Pencil cases/rulers/compass
• White boards/white board markers /Calculators
• Blank CD's/zip drive

 Sports Equipment

• Soccer/basketball/baseball, football equipment/ Tennis balls, racquets
• Golf clubs, balls
• Athletic shoes
• Athletic outfit/Socks
• protection/safety
• equipment
• Nets
• Helmets, gloves
• sports sets
• Instructional DVD's
• Educational DVD's

Aids for Elderly/ Handicapped

• Eye glasses
• Walkers
• Crutches???
• Blankets
• Safety / security aids
• Hearing aids

Infant Items

• Feeding bottles
• Safety/security items
• Car seats/ baby gear
• Clothes/ blankets
• Small toys
• Waterproof crib pads
• Crib sheets/bedding sets
• Bibs/ towels/ and wash cloths

 *Please DO NOT bring used stuffed animals, bikes, food/perishable items, weapons, medicines or chemical products. Note that Items should be new or in a fairly good condition. Please provide full name, e-mail address, & contact phone, attached to each donation bag with a brief description of items enclosed. Pack your donation in a sturdy, preferably waterproof bag, suitcase or plastic storage container. A monetary donation from $5 to $25 is also suggested payable to "WMC20" to help cover for shipping costs.
Thank you!

See www.WMC20.org for more information and additional drop off locations through March 2010.

Questions?  Contact Touria Bernoussi by e-mail: tbernoussi@gmail.com

Event report:

Washington Moroccan American Club 20^th Anniversary:

Container of Care: Destination Morocco Project Report

Introduction:

The Container of Care: Destination Morocco is a project for charity that was initiated by the Washington Moroccan American Club (WMAC) as one of the 20 events that commemorated its 20^th anniversary in March 2010. It was organized by a committee of six women: Annalisa Assaadi, Aicha Bensaid, Badia Al Abassi, Hnia Amal, Touria Bernoussi, and Nadia Id Lachguer, who are Moroccan-Americans from different walks of life but with a common goal: to get involved in such charitable action that will have an impact on so many lives and will be of assistance to so many families back home in Morocco.  We set a goal of collecting a large number of items for donations. such as gently used clothing, shoes, infant items; school supplies; used or new books and toys, for children; and equipment for handicapped, elderly people and all the needy families in both urban and rural areas of Morocco.

Objectives:

The objective of this particular event was for the selected items to be shipped by a container and distributed in Morocco to the neediest families through a number of associations. Our aim was also to demonstrate  transparency throughout this whole process.  Some of the non-profit organizations that we worked with in the past are "Association Solidarité Féminine" for whom Aicha Ech-Channa, is the President and founder, since 1985. This remarkable woman, who worked for almost four decades with a lot of determination and passion, received on November 4, 2009, the "Opus Prize," in recognition of her dedication to the unwed and single mothers in Morocco who have been struggling to raise their kids and need real assistance. Realizing that she could not do as much as she wanted as a government social worker, Ms. Ech-Channa formed a private, non-profit organization that welcomes young mothers, teaches them  childcare skills and otherwise helps with child care, and helps them find jobs.  Her association is currently located in Casablanca.

During Ms. Ech-Channa's visit to Washington DC this past year, the WMAC took the opportunity to organize a special event in her honor, which took place at the Assaadi's residence. We were surprised by seeing the large number of people from our community at large who came especially to congratulate her and encourage her social work. Therefore, we are thrilled to be working with such an organization that fosters the newly reformed Moroccan society.  Please visit this link: Moroccan American Community celebrates Social Activist Aicha Chenna.

In addition, we have been in contact with some other associations such as AIWA (The American International Women Association) for whom the U.S. Ambassador's wife is usually the honorary president.  The association often works with orphanages, as well as "Dar Etalib and Etaliba," and also works closely with the children's hospital of the nation's capital in Rabat.

Furthermore, our aspiration was to reach out to the deprived people on the rural areas of Morocco.  Hence, we also contacted the organization "SOS Children villages in Morocco" which is known under the name "L'Association Marocaine des Villages d'Enfants" located in Casablanca.

First steps of our collection efforts and follow-through:

First, our initial goal was to advertise and spread the word about our collection efforts in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area as well as nationwide. Therefore, we distributed through e-mails and other means of communication a large number of flyers where we indicated all the specifics about the kind of donations we expected to receive and the items that will not be accepted. The flyer also included the different collection locations either in Washington DC, in Virginia or in Maryland, and the contact person for each one of the locations. 

In addition, the WMAC organizing committee posted and continuously updated a flyer with a list of the recommended items for donation on our official website:

http://www.WMC20.org

Second, we sought to raise the funds for the shipping cost of the container of care to Morocco. Therefore, our organizing committee took the initiative to host a fundraising women's kick-off event in old town Alexandria at Casablanca Restaurant. We had a large attendance since a many women from our community responded to our invitation and contributed generously to our collection efforts through  monetary donations.

Another fundraising event took place at Las Tapas in Alexandria, and this time, especially prominent members of our community were invited to attend.  Most of them supported the WMAC in the past and showed again this time their substantial support, some attending and others who could not attend by

making generous donations.

All these events were followed by "Stuff a Truck" week-end on March 13 and 14, which took place at Ibn Khaldoun Academy parking lot in Alexandria.  Despite the rain, a lot of people came and dropped-off their donated items. Even though the majority of us could not be there since there was another 20/20 event taking place on that same day, March 14^th, we asked for help and coordinated and made sure that a lot of volunteers would be present to cover the entire day.

Among those volunteers were students from the area who offered their help. As an aside, our committee decided to compensate their remarkable and appreciated efforts, as they helped by loading the truck and asking donors who came in to sign in our donors' sheet and on the WMC20 banner that proudly states: "We always care."          

Conclusion and remarks:

To wrap-up, this initiative of the Washington Moroccan American Club was one of the most ambitious ideas that the organization sought to accomplish.  The container of care: Destination Morocco is a big community project which required a lot of dedication, attention and transparency (as stated above) to reach out to those in need.

Finally, I was delighted to be part of this, and I am sure that all the other members of our committee feel the same way as this will have a tremendous impact on the life of many deprived people in Moroccan society.  Our project will set an example for the Moroccan community abroad and will encourage more people to get involved in such endeavors. 

By Aicha Bensaid,

Co-Chair of the Container of Care project