National Arab American Service Day is an annual event spearheaded by our ARC members.  Under the motto “Serving Communities, Connecting People”, each year thousands of Arabs and non-Arabs join together to create positive change in their communities.  While the service projects in each city are unique, the event is a true testimony that Arab Americans are giving back and joining together to serve their neighborhoods.

19 organizations participated in this year’s event, held on May 14, 2011, and brought together more than 1,300 volunteers nationally, completely nearly 10,000 hours of service on that one day.  Examples of projects include:

• At the Arab American Community Development Corporation in Philadelphia, PA, members completed a beautification and gardening project at a local high school.
• In Anaheim, CA, Access California Services partnered with the national “stamp out hunger” food drive, packaging and sorting food for low income families.
• At the Arab American Cultural & Community Center in Houston, TX, members organized a health and safety fair for Iraqi refugees that featured free dental screenings, among other things.
• In Dearborn, MI, ACCESS partnered with Focus: HOPE to package food for homebound seniors and clean up neighborhood lots and parks in the city of Detroit.

More information on the 2012 Service Day will follow.