Eleven Points founder Amani Noor Ahmed and her co-founders Dean Alamleh and Zain Bhayat are set to receive the New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Youth Community Service Award on June 8.
The high school students are being recognized for their work to alleviate hunger, homelessness and poverty through their organization Eleven Points.
Princeton resident and Stuart Country Day School sophomore, Ahmed conceived the idea for Eleven Points in the fall of 2012. Together with Dean Alamleh, a sophomore at Robbinsville High School and Zain Bhayat, a freshman at South Brunswick High School, she co-founded the organization to bring together young Muslim and Jewish people to make a difference.
Eleven Points is the sum of the six points on the Star of David and the five points often found on stars in Islamic calligraphy.
Since its inception, Eleven Points has carried out two successful projects to benefit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen and Homefront. Before the youth groups begin their community service projects, they play a few games to break down barriers and get to know each other as they come together to help their communities.
The first project was sponsored by the Princeton University Office of Muslim Life and the Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick. In the fall of 2012, a group of young Muslims and Jewish people gathered at the Anshe Emeth Temple to assemble 500 hygiene kits for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.
In the spring of 2013, the youth from the Princeton University Office of Muslim Life and the Anshe Emeth Temple prepared 300 lunch bags and assembled 200 hygiene kits for Homefront. The necessary items were collected by both, the Muslim and Jewish youth from their communities.
Homefront has invited Eleven Points to participate in their Homefront Run/Walk for Hope scheduled for June 2 at ETS in Princeton.
The founders of Eleven Points are currently working on their schedule of activities for the fall of 2013.
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