Ahlul Bayt Community Centre Ottawa, a leading community center dedicated to serving Ottawa’s Muslim community, triumphantly held their annual fundraising dinner on March 10th, 2023. The event was held at St. Elias Banquet Hall and was attended by the members of the community, local members of parliament, city councilors, diplomats, and respected religious leaders.
Alhamdulillah the fundraising dinner was an immense success, with over 500 attendees and raised donations to fund two new projects, building an outdoor recreational space and a mortuary, to accommodate the community’s growing needs.
A video feature showed how far the Centre has come since moving into their new building on Albion to accommodate their many regular and occasional programs as well as the expanding numbers of the community. Showcased were the renovations of many spaces including an immense gymnasium, expansions of washrooms on the first and third floors, a fully renovated Youth Room and many more. This showed how much work is going into the evolution and progression of the Centre as they tackle current projects such as remodeling the prayer room and main event hall and giving the community hope as they looked towards the Centre’s next steps, building an outdoor recreational space, a mortuary, a functioning industrial kitchen and most importantly a mosque.
The evening’s program was filled with speeches by esteemed guests. Member of Parliament Yasir Naqvi and city councillor Jessica Bradley both commended ABCCO’s efforts and services provided to the community. Lebanese General Consulate Kamel CheikhAli spoke on behalf of the Lebanese Embassy to the powerful impact the Lebanese diaspora has on Canadian society and encouraged the Centre to continue their impactful work.
In addition to the speeches, the dinner had live entertainment by esteemed singer Mahdi Kallas who brought the crowd to their feet with ABCCO’s viral ‘Salam Ya Mahdi’. Community members were moved with the renewal of the vow towards the Awaited Imam.
One of the highlights of the evening was that ABCCO released their new logo, a blue mosque dome rising from the holy Quran encompassed with a gold geometric Islamic star. The branding eloquently symbolizes the development and growth the community had since it was first established and gives a fresh update as the community looks to the future.
The fundraising dinner was a testament of the power of community and philanthropy. It was heartening to see so many individuals come together to support ABCCO’s mission to serve the Shia community. ABCCO’s fundraising dinner was a remarkable success, both in terms of raising funds for their future work and raising awareness of the important work the community has and continues to do. It was a night filled with entertainment, inspiration, and generosity. It serves as a reminder of the impact that each individual can have when they work together.
Immense thanks to Almighty God for his blessings.
A heartfelt thank you to the sincere workers and members of ABCCO and its supporters for so whoever does not express gratitude towards the creation does not express it towards the Creator.
Until we meet again, God willing,
and He is capable of everything.
(Ahlul Bayt Community Centre Ottawa)