The students of Ibn Khaldoun Academy, located in Alexandria, Virginia, kicked off a year of service with a tree planting event held on school grounds on October 31, 2009.  The Moroccan owned academy offers instruction in Arabic, French, and Islamic studies to students from elementary school to adults.

Students, teachers, and parents came together on Halloween to give back to their own community and plant a symbolic “sister tree” for the ones that are planted in HAF’s nurseries in Morocco.  HAF Board Member, Sir Charles Dahan, was present to help the students understand the dramatic impact a tree can have on the lives of families living in rural Morocco whose household incomes will at least double when they sell fruit from their new trees at the local markets.  Other programs from the foundation benefitting these villages include clean drinking water and women’s cooperatives.

Approximately 50 students and their families raised $200 through a small change fundraiser throughout the month of October and secured a $400 matching grant from a corporate sponsor, to plant 600 fruit tree saplings in a High Atlas Foundation tree nursery.   Twelve families will receive trees as a result of this one event.  Following in the tradition of HAF’s pilot program of the newly launched Teacher Toolkit a “Penny Can Truly Make a Difference” in the lives of others.

We are incredibly proud of the success of this second youth oriented program, and hope it inspires other educators to use HAF’s Teacher Toolkit in their classrooms.  We look forward to accomplishing even more with youth in 2010.  Stay tuned in the coming months for highlights of events in Dallas, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Thank you to all the children, families and teachers of the Ibn Khaldoun Academy, particularly to its Founder and President, Mr. Boubker Abisourour.