FutureNow and US Muslim Organizations Harvey Relief Telethon Raised Over $2.6 Million
29 Sep 2017
On August 25, 2017 “Harvey” a Category 4 Hurricane struck the coast of Texas near Rockport, causing devastation for people in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. In a four day period many areas received as much as 5 feet of rainfall causing massive amount of flooding.
Over thirty (30) American Islamic organizations and FutureNow Technologies joined together for a Live Telethon on ARY Digital on Sunday, September 24, 2017 from Noon till 3:00 PM CST to raise over $2.6 Million for victims of Hurricane Harvey. FutureNow Technologies acted as a technical partner in this event to provide logistical support and host the Contact Center for the funds collection. Mr. Umar Farooq, MD of FutureNow Technologies was also a panel member of the Live Telethon.
FutureNow has been working with multiple companies from Texas and the Houston region in particular. Company has several dedicated BeSpoke teams supporting business operations of companies which are headquartered in Houston. These person to person relationships span over a decade in a lot of cases. So it was with a great deal of trepidation and disquiet that FNT saw the storm situation unfolding over Texas. The flooding meant that businesses were down for over a week at the very least. Some locations are still flooded and unusable. The FNT teams came together and worked day and night to support and cover the downtime that had resulted due to the storm situation.
“FutureNow Technologies” is honored to contribute to the vital efforts of the Islamic Organizations keeping with our company values to ‘Act as One & Do the Right Thing’. We have a responsibility to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey,” added Umar Farooq, Managing Director of FutureNow Technologies.
M. J. Khan, President of The Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH), who spearheaded the effort issued the following statement:
“We thank Lord Almighty for this historic display of unity and support” said M.J. Khan. He added; “Serving humanity is the essence of our Faith and we are honored to be able to help our fellow Texans who suffered during and after this epic storm.”
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner made an appearance during the Live Telethon to add his own appeal for donations along with a stunning personal pledge to match the donations from the Muslim community dollar for dollar.
“Muslims opened their mosques as shelters and distribution centers to people of any and all faiths and religious belief,” Turner said. “I have seen their leaders, volunteers, doctors and businesses helping their neighbors all across the Greater Houston Area during and after hurricane Harvey. We know Houstonians can always count on each other in times like these.”
U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison (Minnesota), Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas), and former Congressman Nick Lampson all made appeals for donations during the Live Telethon event.
Azhar Azeez, President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and an executive with Islamic Relief USA, also participated in the Telethon. Azeez said the Telethon can serve as a sign of hope not just for the Houston area but for the entire country. Azhar Azeez pledged $1.0 Million on behalf of Islamic Relief USA for the rebuilding the lives and rehabilitation of Hurricane Harvey Victims. He also presented a check for $40,000 on behalf of ISNA.
Other leaders joining the Telethon included Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, Chairman NAIT; Imam Zaid Shakir, Co-Founder Zaytuna College; Javaid Anwar, CEO Midland Energy; Dr. Sajjad Chaudhary, President APPNA; Dr. Kamran Khan, President APPNA Nevada Chapter, Murad Ajani, President His Highness The Aga Khan Council of Southern United States; Dr. Asaf R. Qadeer, member APPNA Foundation; Shahid Javed, Islamic Society of Beaumont; Mr. Shahzad Chatriwala, Director ISGH; Mohammad Zafar, Board member Islamic Society of Rochester; Ghanzfar Hashmi, ARY Houston; Saeed Shaikh, President HKSCA; Afzal Janjua and Sarah Alikhan.
Additional pledges and donations are still being accepted and can be made by contacting ISGH Office at +1 713 524 6615, or donating on-line: http://www.launchgood.com/harveyrelieffund and www.ISGH.Org
Contact:
Corporate Communications
Bilal Iqbal
biqbal@tfntech.com
Ahmad Bilal
abilal@tfntech.com