🤲🏽 Like 2 billion Muslims, I am up early. Today is the most sacred day of the year.

On the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah, help us reach $150,000 by 7pm and unlock the $10,000 LaunchGood bonus

As-Salaam-Alaikum and good morning.

My friends, it is about 3:45am here in New Jersey, and I am awake for Fajr.

Like hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world, I am fasting today. I will be praying throughout the day. I will be making dua. I will be asking Allah to forgive me, guide me, strengthen me, and accept whatever good I am able to do with the time, health, voice, platform, and resources He has placed in my hands.

Today is the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah, also known as the Day of Arafah. For Muslims, this is one of the most sacred days of the entire year. It comes during the days of Hajj, when pilgrims gather in worship, humility, repentance, and prayer. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us that righteous deeds in these first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah are especially beloved to Allah.

For my non-Muslim friends reading this, I want to explain it simply: this is one of the holiest and most spiritually meaningful days of the year for nearly 2 billion Muslims. It is a day when we try to do more good, give more, pray more, repent more, and remember the people who are suffering.

And today, I am asking you to join me in one very specific good deed.

Help us build a school for young orphaned children in Gaza.

🕋 Donate today and help us reach $150,000 by 7pm Eastern

As of this early morning, 971 supporters have raised $118,233 toward our full $250,000 goal.

That is beautiful. I am grateful for every single donor who has helped us get here.

But today is also urgent.

We have until 7pm Eastern today to reach $150,000. If we get there, LaunchGood will give this project an extra $10,000 to help build the school.

That means we need to raise $31,767 today.

And we are just 29 donors away from crossing 1,000 supporters.

I need us to reach both milestones.

Not because the numbers look good. Not because I want a headline. Not because this is just another fundraiser on the internet.

I need us to reach them because the team on the ground in Gaza is preparing to build, and the children need us to finish what we started.

🤲🏽 Give your Zakat, sadaqah, or tax-deductible donation now

This school is being designed for orphaned children in Gaza ages 5–9, serving Grades 1, 2, and 3.

These are children who should be learning how to read. How to write. How to count. How to study Qur’an. How to ask questions. How to play safely. How to sit in a classroom with a teacher who knows their name.

Instead, many of them have spent the past two years surrounded by displacement, hunger, fear, grief, and the loss of family.

A school will not erase everything they have endured, but it can give them something real and urgently needed: structure, safety, learning, play, counselling, routine, and adults who are invested in their future.

For a child who has lost almost everything, that is not small.

That is mercy made practical.

The proposed school includes 6 fully equipped classrooms with space for approximately 270 children, around 45 students per classroom. It includes 6 washrooms, each with its own separate exterior entrance, an administrative office, a teachers’ room, a dedicated counsellor’s space, solar power support, electrical infrastructure, secure perimeter fencing, and an outdoor artificial grass play area.

📚 Help us turn this plan into a real school for Gaza’s orphans

Today, I want Muslims to think about the reward of this day.

Allah knows what each of us has. Allah knows our capacity. Allah knows what it costs us to give. The person who gives $5 may be giving from a place of sacrifice that is more beloved to Allah than someone else giving $500 with ease. Allah knows best.

So do not let the amount stop you.

Give what you can.

Give sincerely.

Give with love for the orphans.

Give with the hope that Allah accepts it from you on one of the most sacred days of the year.

And for my friends who are not Muslim, I want you to know that you are fully part of this work too. You do not have to share my faith to share this mercy. You do not have to know the details of Dhul Hijjah to understand that orphaned children in Gaza deserve a safe classroom, a teacher, a desk, counselling support, and a future.

A child does not need to share your religion to deserve your compassion.

A child does not need to live near you to deserve your help.

A child does not need to speak your language to deserve a chance.

🇵🇸 Donate now through the verified LaunchGood campaign

Here is what we need today.

We need $31,767 by 7pm Eastern to reach $150,000 and unlock the $10,000 LaunchGood bonus.

That could happen if 318 people give $100, or 636 people give $50, or 64 people give $500, or 32 people give $1,000, or 7 people give $5,000. Most likely, it will take all of it together: small gifts, medium gifts, major gifts, and people forwarding this email to others who can help.

If you can give $5, give $5.

If you can give $50, give $50.

If you can give $100, $500, $1,000, or $5,000, please do it today.

And if Allah has placed the capacity in your hands to give $10,000, $25,000, $100,000, or cover a major part of what remains, I am asking you directly to step forward on this sacred day.

This project is organized by Human Concern International. It is LaunchGood verified, tax-deductible, and for Muslims it is Zakat eligible.

And I want to be clear, as always: I am a full-time employee of Human Concern International and have been for more than 2 years. I do not receive fees or personal compensation from this fundraiser.

🏗️ Please give today and help us unlock the $10,000 bonus for this school

I am awake before dawn asking because the deadline is real.

I am fasting today and asking because the children are worth it.

I am going to pray throughout this day and ask Allah to accept this work from every person who gives, shares, prays, and helps carry it forward.

We have raised $118,233.

We need $150,000 by 7pm Eastern.

We need 29 more donors to cross 1,000 supporters.

And we need to keep going until the full $250,000 is raised and this school can be built, insha’Allah.

After you give, please forward this email to 3 people who care about Gaza, children, education, mercy, and justice. Tell them it is the 9th day of Dhul Hijjah, we have until 7pm Eastern, and we need $31,767 to unlock a $10,000 bonus for a real school for young orphans in Gaza.

May Allah accept it from every person who gives today.

Love and appreciate each of you.

Your friend and brother,
Shaun