Hi all,

I hope this email finds everyone in good health and spirits (even with the cold weather). 

I'm emailing you today for your support in a cause that is important to me.

When I first moved to New York City last year I was assigned Woodside, Queens as my "beat" or area to work on. Funnily enough Woodside, Queens is also the first place in the USA I ever called home since my parents lived there for many years before and after I was born. Needless to say, I felt drawn to the neighborhood.

Woodside is a diverse but low-income area. It has a large Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali, and Irish population.  After I starting working in the neighborhood for school I discovered the Sunnyside/Woodside Boys and Girls Club and have, over time, seen the commitment and dedication of the staff (comprised of a couple employees and the rest are all volunteers and interns) to their children and programs. These are people who spend every single weekday evening (from 5-9) and Saturday's (until 3pm) volunteering to make sure the kids are off the streets and have a safe place to be. 

If that's not inspiring commitment, I don't know what is.

That being said, right now SWBGC is at the risk of having to cut back their programs to twice a week because of lack of funding. To make matters worse, the location they use will be unavailable to them starting May so they are also raising funds to help them secure another location.

I'm working to help them make this happen by starting a fundraising page. I'm reaching out to everyone I know to help me support their organization. Every dollar is helps! And of course, I hope you will share this with friends, family, and/or co-workers who may be interested in helping me reach my fundraising target.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. The link to my fundraising page is: 

https://fundraise.swbgc.org/e/sairakh

Thanks,

Saira Khan

Master of Science Candidate at Columbia Journalism School

Vice President of Women in Media, Columbia Journalism School

Telephone: 443-254-4024

sk3687@columbia.edu

http://www.journoconvo.com