Jibran, we are proud of you! Readers, please enjoy this post from Jibran, and to update, he was able to raise almost $3400!

"Service learning is very important for us to do because we are very blessed to have everything we need to survive. However, not everyone is as blessed as we are so we should help others when they need it.  You can help a lot of people in need especially in a crisis like right now.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, there are many people who need our assistance, so I set up an online fundraiser asking my friends and family to donate money to help people in need in Pakistan.   

Since I was home and can’t go out in the community because of the coronavirus outbreak, I decided to start an online fundraiser. One of my mom’s friends in Pakistan told me that the country has gone into lockdown because of how quickly the virus is spreading there.  There are a lot of day laborers who are now jobless because they have to stay home. She said that it takes about $150 to support one family for about a month.  I sent an email to everyone asking them to consider donating to this cause.  They could support the fundraiser by sending money to my mom’s Paypal account. At this time I have collected $1050 and my mom has already sent it to Pakistan. 

This service project reminded me of when we learned about budgeting and economics on a field trip in Civics class.  We learned that families need money for food, shelter, education, childcare, healthcare, transportation and other necessities.  Even when we were doing it as practice it was very challenging to meet my budget requirement.   I now know how hard it is for people in Pakistan because they are very poor.  

I have been running this fundraiser for about a week. This activity has made me feel very grateful about how blessed I am. I never have to worry about anything because my parents have good paying jobs. We always have everything we need and we do not have to think about it. I feel bad for those people who are already very poor and now with the coronavirus outbreak they are even worse off.  I hope that the money I collect will help these people in need. 

I am glad that I am able to help people in need because it makes me more grateful for all that I have. I hope the people in Pakistan and all around the world can get back to normal after the outbreak is over.