Flint, Mich. – Islamic Relief USA, a nonprofit humanitarian and advocacy organization, has awarded a $96,100 grant to the MADE Institute, which offers wraparound services to individuals recently released from correctional facilities, helping them reenter society and work toward self-sufficiency.
“We at the MADE Institute greatly appreciate this opportunity,” said Leon El-Alamin, founder and executive director at the institute. “As we say here, you deserve better than your mistake and your past does not define you.”
Specifically, the grant will support the institute’s Empowering People Through Innovation & Knowledge (E.P.I.K. ) Green Program. The program consists of providing comprehensive services to formerly incarcerated individuals who are currently being released from prison/jail, as well as at-risk-youth, all of whom learn skills trades and then have the opportunity to renovate blighted homes that the MADE Institute has purchased from its local Genesee County Land Bank in Flint.
The program focuses on Flint’s north side, an area of the city that has a food desert, high unemployment, and many health disparities contributing to other problems. Once the homes are renovated by students in the program, many of them will have an opportunity to live in the dwellings for a period of time to help them adjust back into free society.
MEDIA CONTACT
Syed M. Hassan
(703) 370-7246; (571) 421-7032 (CELL)
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Islamic Relief USA, based in Alexandria, Va., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) humanitarian organization. Its mission is to provide relief and development in a dignified manner regardless of gender, race, or religion, and works to empower individuals in their communities and give them a voice in the world. Its programs benefit millions of people each year in more than 40 countries around the world, including in the United States.
Islamic Relief USA meets all of the Standards for Charity Accountability of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, a national charity monitoring group affiliated with the Better Business Bureau system. Islamic Relief USA is on the U.S. government’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) charity list, and it is also a signatory to the code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.