MY Project USA honors next generation of leaders at Youth Excellence Awards
MY Project USA, Ohio’s largest Muslim social services organization, honored dozens of young people for their service, leadership and advocacy in the community at its Youth Excellence Awards ceremony on Sunday in Columbus, NBC4 reported.
Raifa Alhag-Ali was named the recipient of the Catalyst of Change Award. Alhag-Ali served on the organization’s Board of Directors and helped rebuild the student team for the Hilltop Free Clinic, which reached more than 2,000 families in a single year. “I’m so proud of everyone. Every single one of their names deserves to be on there,” Alhag-Ali said. “I took a lot of time to volunteer with MY Project USA since I was 16. I continued to show up for the kids in the Wedgewood community and show out for them. Really, just the long-term commitment is what defines this.”
Mariam Abaza received the Excellence in Journalism & Advocacy Award. Her reporting focuses on food insecurity, healthcare access, immigration and civic engagement. “I think one of the most important things is to advocate for people who don’t necessarily have that platform or that spotlight,” Abaza said. “That’s something that I really appreciate and love about journalism—it gives you that ability to advocate for people and share their stories. I think the most important part about journalism is giving people that mic.”
New Albany High School senior Kian Haq was awarded the Deah’s Excellence in Community Service & Leadership Award. Haq is the creator of Climate Justice Warriors, a student group that spent more than 2,000 hours over the past year transforming a warehouse into a thrift store aimed at diverting unnecessary waste from the Franklin County Landfill. “Approximately 75% of the trash that goes to the landfill is furniture—fridges, couches, toys. All of this stuff doesn’t need to be thrown away. This is still good stuff,” Haq said. “What we do is take these donations in that might otherwise have been thrown out to the landfill, clean them up, repair them, and resell them.”
Award recipients hope their work inspires other young people across Central Ohio to get involved in their communities. “You also can do something,” Haq added. “It isn’t just us who are activists. It isn’t just us who have a voice. It’s every single person—it’s every single kid.”