We, The Youth

Starting from the Bottom

MCWS Youth Report

2014-2015

In the name of God, the most gracious,

the most merciful...

Our Mission
To develop a community of sisters and
brothers who can grow as Muslims around
the Masjid in a social, safe, & blessed way.

r
e
t
t
Le
r
u
o
from
s
r
o
t
c
e
r
i
D
h
t
u
o
Y

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh!

Its been our pleasure serving as youth directors

in such a beautiful and vibrant community. The
work we do is always challenging, but the
rewards at the end are fulfilling. It feels so
beautiful seeing the young people we work hard
to serve become better young men and young women,
and grow into leaders and game-changers.

The Canton community is truly unique, and even on a national level it acts as
a pioneer in youth engagement. Youth here hold relief dinners, volunteer in
and around the masjid, and participate in programs that serve to draw in their
brothers and sisters. Whats special is it sees young people invested in seeing
their brotherhood and sisterhood grow. Mentees become mentors, mentors
become supporters and donors, and the community progresses. Our blessing has
been getting those processes running, supporting the young people at this
masjid, and developing innovative and engaging programming. Having a space
with which to foster these relationships and develop these programs has been so
important to our work.
Being involved with the Canton community has given us an outlet to grow
spiritually and has given us the platform needed to push ourselves and expand
our own abilities and knowledge. Everything learned from our time and
experience at MCWS we will continue using to benefit the Muslim
community and we are thankful for every person we have crossed paths with
because of MCWS.
Sincerely,
Jumana Abusalah
Female Youth Director
mcwsGirlsYD@gmail.com

Osama Odeh
Male Youth Director
YouthDirectorMCWS@gmail.com

CORE

A unique Friday program that runs

basketball tournaments, MMA training, video game tournaments,
table tennis tournaments, a snack bar, and offers trophies, prizes,
medals, gift cards, and more to winners in all
walks of life.

Br
ot
he
Pr rs
og
ra
m
SUNNAH SATURDAY
A program designed to educate
and enrich Middle School and
High School students by
engaging them in sports
activities, Islamic
education, and
personal
development. The
program runs
through the
school year
to serve as
a place where a
Muslim identity may be
fostered.

min

MCWS SPORTS

The MCWS Youth have taken the

initiative to
galvanize the
Ummah by putting
together premiere
leagues for
Basketball and
Soccer. There is
active participation
by people of all ages
as players, captains,
coaches,
spectators, board
members/accountants/technical
directors, photographers, athletic physician assistants and
as owners/sponsors. We plan to expand
and integrate an annual MCWS
Volleyball tournament debuting in the
Summer of 2015 and a Hockey league
in the Winter of 2016 in sha Allah.

TEAM FAJR

An initiative born among the youth and

propagated by them. Each Saturday morning phones are called and messages are
sent as the young brothers of MCWS get
together for a morning of prayer at MCWS
followed by a moment of bonding at the
nearest Tim Hortons or iHop.

VOLUNTEERING

The girls of
Canton youth
constantly
volunteer
for different
events and
communities
throughout
the year. For
the past two
years we have
been involved
with the Ramadan Fight against Hunger
volunteering at places such as Gleaners and
Forgotten Harvest. Some other volunteering
that the girls do are helping at the MCWS 5K
Run, Taraweeh, Dinners, and constant
keeping up of the Youth Lounge and
masjid alhamdulillah.

SOLE

SOLE is a 10 week girls summer

program focused on further developing young
womens exposure and understanding of
religion and leadership. The program consists
of workshops, art, expression, dialogues, food
and fieldtrips throughout the summer.

g
s
r
n
i
e
t
m
s
i
S gram
o
r
P

BIG SISTER-LITTLE SISTER

MENTORING PROGRAM

This program is designed to match

middle school young Muslimahs with
a big sister mentor in the Canton
community that they can depend on to
foster emotional and spiritual development opportunities. Through this, we
hope to create
trustful,
reliable
relationships
between the
different
generations
in our
community.

SISTERS HALAQAH/
TABOO & TEA TIME
We aim
to have
consistent
girls
gatherings
that foster
spiritual
discussions
and deep
connections.
They come in the form of weekly Friday
programming, also known as Taboo Tea Time.
Sometimes speakers from the community lead the
discussions, sometimes the youth director leads the
discussions, and sometimes the girls lead them.

e
g
n
u
o

L
h
t
u
o
Y
t
w
u
e
o
y
N
La

MIST

The Muslim InterScholastic Tournament

PCEP MSA

Many of the masjid youth at MCWS mesh

into the high schoolers at PCEP. The High
School MSA at PCEP is one of the most
attended and one of the largest high school
MSAs in the region. Without this
organization and the dedication of the youth
and their mentors, many students would be
unable to pray their jummuah prayers.
An awesome event where high school students have
a chance to face off in 30 different competitive
events against high schoolers across the region for a
chance to win some amazing prizes and scholarships.
The Canton team is one of the foremost competitors
taking first place in 2014 and second place in 2015,
advancing to Nationals!

G
N
I
M
M
A
R
G
O
TOWN HALL
R

P
T
N
I
JO
QIYAMS

Several times a year, the youth are

brought
together for
a night of
remembrance.
The youth
qiyams
specialize
in making a
night of
worship something to look forward to.
Speakers are brought in to address the
youth and night prayers are performed.
Workshops and other activities are
frequent during qiyams.
7

A powerful new form of youth

group. It creates a platform
where we can come together and
pitch ideas to each other.

The ideas that get the support

of fellow youth grow and
become real projects.

Having been a part of the MCWS community for almost 25 years, I have been
able to witness such a blessed and exponential growth in so many aspects of it,
Alhamdulillah. One of these is our youth community that has grown into a
vibrant and purposeful group of young individuals, Masha'Allah. I am truly
honored to work with such committed
brothers and sisters who are driven to
cultivate God-loving, motivated and
purpose-driven youth. Whether it's
our Youth Directors, mentors, or one
of the dozens of volunteers, they all
work tirelessly to help envision and
accomplish our goals and execute our
programs and events. All these youth
programs that you see happening
before you (and
those you don't see) are a product of countless hours
of brainstorming, preparation and
execution. The Youth Lounge has played a vital role
in all of these projects. It serves as a hub for
programs, meetings, discussions, and just plain
lounging :) Our MCWS Youth know that although
they are welcome at our masjid, they are always
welcome at the Youth Lounge. Creating a clean and
comfortable space that is warm, inviting and safe that
caters to their needs is one of our goals that would not
be possible without the Permission and Blessings of
Allah, the Almighty, and of course YOUR support!
Please keep our youth workers, volunteers, and members in your Du'as this Ramadan, and always.

-Anila Baig

S
L
A
I
N
MO outh

I
Y
e
T
h
S
t
E
m
T Fro
What's it like to be a part of the MCWS community? To
me it's just that, actually being part of the community. In
this community I can actually contribute with my actions
and my thoughts and I can help. In other communities
you can feel like a bystander waiting for things to happen,
while in this community everyone has the ability to be an
integral member. Alhamdullilah for the blessings we have
in this community and may Allah bless this community
even more, ameen.
Mohamed Mohammed

Mashaallah, the Youth Lounge has been a central

part and pillar of my life. A focal point for
spirituality, the space acts like a lodestone, drawing
in eager and vibrant individuals. It was the space
where we all remembered Abid. It was the space for
countless rap battles, after-Fajr naps, deep
conversations and lots of Haloit has been
everything from a hangout space to a musallah to a
place to sleep overnight. Those walls carry, for me,
the weight of endless memories, laughs shared, words
spoken and epiphanies realized. You cant help but
love a place like this.

I started coming to the youth

lounge because I wanted to
connect with the people in
my community. It has helped
me become more confident
overall, I feel like I've made
new friends and have gotten
closer to my old ones. I am
also thankful for the amazing
youth directors that bring
us closer together as human
beings and closer to Islam.
The youth lounge is were the
youth spends most of their
time bonding and getting
closer to each other. We also
hold most of the youth events
in the basement throughout
out the year such as the
Qiyams. It is important to
have a place like this so we
can block out all the
problems for few hours and
just hangout.
-Rabia Khalid

The youth lounge is a beacon of light in the darkest

times, not only for the youth but for the whole
community. It attracts youth from all the other local
masajid and there are so many great programs/
activities that are held in the youth lounge. An
abundance of khair comes from this facility and
alhumdulilah there have been so many individuals that
have benefited from the variety of activities that the
youth lounge hosts.

-Sameed Khan

-Ibrahim Abdus-sabur
9

The youth lounge, to many is more than

just a space for the youth. It is a place
where many friendships flourish, where
we gather to strengthen our sisterhood and
brotherhood; where we grow as
individuals closer to Allah SWT in the
company of wonderful friends. The youth
lounge is where many Qiyaams were held
and where Islam was revived into our
lives. Events such as Sunnah Saturday,
movie nights, gaming competitions, girls
halaqas, and many more activities take
place in the youth lounge. We took this
random space in the basement, and turned
it into a home. Alhamduliallah we are so
grateful for such a space however the time
has come to rebuild our home, and make
it stronger literally and metaphorically.
We have already established strong
foundations, and it is time to now
build up.

To me, being part of the MCWS youth

group is being part of a huge, diverse,
wonderful, loving, and welcoming
family. When one of us is passionate
about a cause, the rest of us are inspired
by our brothers or sisters passions and get
on board to help. It might mean planning
a dinner, food drive, or volunteer outing,
but whatever it is we do it together as the
MCWS youth and we have fun doing it.
-Zara Akhter

What makes this community such a pleasure to be

a part of is the ability to gain knowledge from the
great scholars we have around us. This
community is also consistently blessed with
people, not only in the local area but from all
around the world, who come here to give lectures
and seminars. If you have a willingness to strive
and learn the deen this community will harvest
and grow that desire to endless bounds.
-Rami El-Bkaily

-Khadega Mohammed and Nada Abusalah

MCWS Youth Group is where I get to be
inspired and challenged by the passionate
people I'm surrounded with. Working with
everyone on qiyams, fundraising dinners and
projects like SOLE at random hours of the
day and night has made the community feel
like family and the masjid feel like home.
The youth lounge is like a second home to me. I go there to
relax, to think, to build relationships with fellow brothers and
sisters... it has done a lot for me. I come to the mosque more
often after meeting such wonderful people and spending time
with them in the youth lounge. My experiences there have
helped me to open up more to others and I have developed as a
person because of it
-Anonymous
10

-Areeba Jibril

Follow us!
Facebook.com/MCWSyouth
Instagram: MCWSyouth
In loving memory of one of our most beloved youth, Abid Mallick.
May Allah grant him the highest of heavens.