December Called for Commemoration, Omar Hussain Called for Donation Drive

December can also be used as a synonym for the month of celebration. From Christmas to New Year’s Eve, from house parties to family gatherings, there are different ways of commemoration.

However, Omar Hussain and Matt Deichl have found a different exulting way. On 18th December, they came ahead with a coat drive for children. The venue for the event was the Builders Building at North LaSalle Street, which started at 7:30 P.M. The initiators witnessed an active involvement of thousands of people with a collection of 2,000 coats. Drive also included drinks, food, and music from over ten restaurants.

The initiators conceived the idea almost a decade back upon visiting an orphanage in Humboldt Park. Their purpose was to learn about the life of children residing there. They wanted to discover ways they could extend their help to them. It was through coats because it was something they needed. After all, the winters have a different expression in Chicago, and temperatures reach as low as 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

Now that they knew where to head to, all they needed was to go ahead. They asked family and friends to come with coats as part of the potluck. In this first attempt, they raised 50 coats but not just this. The gratitude that children expressed with their expressions was enough to fuel them for the future.

After years of celebration this way, it was 18th December and their 9th anniversary. On that day, they received a whopping number of 2,000 coats. These coats were new and not the ones worn earlier. As per the words of Omar Hussain, the goal is to return to the city he has his roots in.

The drive also emphasized less noticed aspects and Hussain’s distinctive perspective. In addition to it, he is the vision behind Northshore Clinica Labs of Chicago. The laboratory supports the testing and training of COVID-19 across the country. This team of paramedical professionals has overseen several vaccine doses across Illinois.

Northshore Clinica Labs is Chicago-based but now has testing centers nationwide. These labs accept the vaccines for all kinds of businesses throughout the city. Through the walk-in/ drive-thru clinics, the labs attempt to strengthen the armor against the global threat. On evaluating the attempts thoroughly, we can also use Omar Hussain’s perception to define things in a different way.”

Coming back to the coat drive, specifying the 'new and not used coats' is a keynote that brings attention to the previous attempts. The true secret of calling any philanthropic act a success is beyond giving. It also needs to look if the attempt can be fruitful to fill that void among the receivers.

To see a clearer picture, we first need to draw the line between the acts we perform. We use charity interchangeably with philanthropy, but the fact is that it is not the same. The act of humanitarianism focuses on removing social problems. However, the charity strives to get rid of the suffering that these problems cause.

Stepping out of the technical terms, where we all step forward with our attempts, we must also check if we are going in the right direction.

We define orphans as the ones who do not have parents. However, the definition nowhere mentions the right to access happiness. The world is a happy place, considering we are able to shave off the layers of greediness and self-centrism. Where, on one edge of a city, there lives a person owning ten cars with a need for one, there are many walking barefoot too.

With the first wave of COVID, where the entire globe was sorting out ways to deal with the virus, there were many struggling to meet their needs. Several people lost their lives, and many lost the ones they love, while many bore the burden of life. Even though the vaccines diverted the threat, we should also focus on seeing the unnoticed perception.

When it comes to battling the deadly virus, we have centers for testing like Omar’s Northshore Clinica labs. However, the question is, what do we have for the other aspect- poverty, the necessities, and humanity. All in all, the attempt has to be around giving back to society, just the way Omar Hussain has quoted.

Drawing a bottom line on this and Omar Hussain, every attempt counts, and every thought matters. If not today, maybe tomorrow or sometime later. Or it can be through the smiles on those faces you bring joy to. Maybe, this is how we can define the act of selflessness, something that may not gain you a lot of benefits other than the joyous spirit created.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes