Human Development Foundation Gets a Two Thumbs Up in Chicago

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There is many an example in history of young nations building themselves up by sheer determination and force of character. -Quaid-e-Azam

Human
Development
Foundation

Human Development Foundation Gets a Two Thumbs Up in Chicago

Arshia Hasnain
May 23, 2005

The 8th Annual Community Awareness and Fundraising Dinner for the Human Development Foundation (HDF) was held in Chicago, Illinois on Saturday April 30th, 2005. The evening began in the grand ballroom of the Hyatt Regency with tasteful and welcoming booths that displayed donated art, jewelry, clothing and other items. A number of community related businesses were also present in the booth areas. Once the over 600 guests were seated in the beautifully decorated ball room, the formal proceedings began with the words of the Holy Quran recited by Mohammed Chegini. The Chairperson of the Chicago Regional Network of HDF, Sajjad Asghar, welcomed everyone and laid out the program for the evening. He introduced the Master of Ceremonies, Mehmood Khan, who talked about how the work of HDF encompasses Education, Health Care and Economic Development.

Prof. Adil Najam was the first speaker of the evening. Prof. Najam is an Assistant Professor of International Relations of Environmental Policy at Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He spoke on the role that entities like HDF play in Pakistan, and presented his research on philanthropy in the US among the Pakistani-American community. His humorous yet intellectually stimulating speech was very well received.

The Master of Ceremonies, Mehmood Khan, along with one of the pillars and Co-chair of HDF, Dr Khalid Riaz, started the fundraising. The bar was set at $200,000 for the evening. Together Mehmood and Khalid were able to motivate the public and got the bar up to $120,000 for starters.

This paved the way for the keynote speaker of the evening. Bill Mosher, the producer, creator and promoter of the “Visionaries” was invited to speak. The Visionaries is a public television documentary series that profiles the work of non profit organizations around the world. Now you all may ask what does Bill Mosher and Visionaries have to do with HDF??? It was an honor for HDF and all its members that this season Visionaries selected the Human Development Foundation (HDF) as one of its subjects. A 30 minute documentary was shown to the seated audience; many of whom saw this documentary for the first time. The documentary explained that the aim of HDF is to facilitate a grassroots movement for positive social change and community development in Pakistan. Bill Mosher talked about how Visionaries would show its documentary about HDF under the title “Progress for Peace” on public television in the US. This documentary profile of HDF will be distributed to public television stations around the country as part of its eleventh season. Later this year the episode will be available to Comcast Cable subscribers as part of Comcast’s video on demand service. You can all check your local television listings for airtimes. This documentary moved the audience in the hall and motivated them to pour their support.

This lead to the second half of the fundraising effort: The very ambitious target for the evening was certainly exceeded with a total amount of $226,000.Indeed the Chicago donors showed their overwhelming support for HDF and its programs. The fact that HDF is a US based organization that takes the tax deductible donations from the community straight to the poor people of Pakistan, without any connection whatsoever with any Governmental entity, is a big factor in donor confidence. It was a proud evening for all the members and volunteers that worked tirelessly for many months. A small speech was also given by Aitzaz Ahmed, the Consul General of Pakistan.

The evening was still young and the audience was anxiously waiting for the final portion of the program. The “One and Only” Munni Begum took center stage and mesmerized the audience with her captivating style and vocal magic.

In conclusion it was heartwarming to see the local community not only from Chicago but also from other neighboring states like, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota involved in this very worthy cause. Thank you once again to all the members and volunteers and especially the donors who helped HDF reach its goal. See you all next year.

Click here for pictures from the event.

Date/Time Last Modified: 8/1/2005 8:11:14 AM