For Mubeen Siddiqui and Sahar Husain — two of the founding members of Muslim Volunteers For New York, Inc., a secular organization — the month of Ramadan is the perfect time to volunteer. “During this month, people are often more reflective and focused on gratitude,” says Mubeen. “This is a month of compassion, of service, of self-reflection, of giving — and we really emphasize that.”

Muslim Volunteers For New York, Inc. (MV4NY), which began in 2015, is a non-sectarian community group focused on improving the city on four fronts: education, hunger and poverty alleviation, health and wellness and environmental stewardship. “We work with everyone,” says Mubeen. “We are all New Yorkers, and we want to give back to the city we live in, as well as the diverse communities that call it home.” Since its founding, the group has amassed hundreds of supporters across the Tri-State.

Muslim Volunteers For New York began volunteering with Citymeals almost a decade ago. The problem of elder hunger in the city is one that resonates with the entire MV4NY team, all of whom have aging parents and grandparents. “This really tugs at our heartstrings,” says Mubeen. The organization does two food drives a year — one around Thanksgiving and another at Ramadan. They also use their resources to fund Halal meals for Muslim meal recipients in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx through Citymeals.

Many of our New York supporters are celebrating Eid through service and giving.

Members of their group also ensure that those meals come with a little something extra — a handmade card. This past year, the organization made over 4,000 cards to be delivered along with a meal. “My own mother is 85,” says Mubeen. “She is actually the single biggest contributor to our cardmaking efforts.” Over the years, Mubeen estimates that her mother has made hundreds of cards on her own, most of them for Valentine's Day.

The organization encourages volunteers to make cards for all sorts of occasions, including Islamic holidays, like Eid al-Fitr – the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan. After Ramadan has ended, Mubeen, Sahar and the rest of the MV4NY family work to sustain that spirit of giving, working with Citymeals to deliver meals, make cards and run food drives. As Mubeen explains: “We try to carry that spirit of gratitude by giving and service throughout the year.”