State Rep. Julie Plawecki (l) stands with volenteers at a charitable event in Detroit

DETROIT — As volunteers gathered behind tables lining Third Street, Nahid Ayoub, the founder of Project Dignity, called on underprivileged individuals to join a pre-Thanksgiving feast on Wednesday. 

It was sunny but cold. Trays of chicken and mashed potatoes preceded a small pile of pumpkin, apple and pecan pies. Young participants stood enthusiastically as less fortunate individuals lined up to get their meals.

Project Dignity feeds people in Detroit every week. But this year, the organization collaborated with HYPE Athletics and several community restaurants and grocery stores to provide holiday meals.

Earlier in the week, HYPE and the Lebanese American Heritage Club helped feed 800 families.

HYPE CEO Ali Sayed saluted the community’s charitable efforts and called for greater cooperation between organizations to amplify the impact.

Arab American groups, businesses and individuals stepped up humanitarian efforts this holiday season.

Fordson student Khansa Alhaidi, who was volunteering at the event in Detroit as a part of the HYPE Youths Force, said giving back for the less fortunate is a duty.

“We need to bring happiness to those who don’t have what we have in any way that we can,” she said. 

State Rep. Julie Plawecki (D-Dearborn Heights), who attended the lunch distribution, described the event as amazing.

“This is what America is all about— to help those who are in need,” she said.

Plawecki emphasized that the diversity of the volunteers counters the negative rhetoric about Southeast Michigan. 

“It doesn’t matter what race you are,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what religion you are. Everybody is here to help one another. These are our brothers and our sisters that need help— it doesn’t matter if they’re Catholic or Muslim; they just need help.”

Ahead of Thanksgiving, the Arab American Chaldean Council (ACC) distributed 200 coats to the needy.

Eagle Pharmacy in Southgate gave away 150 turkeys on a first-come-first-serve basis last week. 

Mohamed Hamieh, the owner of the pharmacy, said the reaction from residents was overwhelmingly positive.

“We are a part of the community,” Hamieh said. “We wanted to give a different image than what Fox News is portraying to the residents of Southgate. We also wanted to say thank you to the city and help people who can’t afford their own turkey.”

Hamieh said the holiday was the “perfect opportunity” to give back.

Zaman International partnered with local business, including Dearborn Fresh, Greenland and Poultry Express, to set up a turkey drive, feeding more than 100 families at its center in Inkster. 

Zaman president Najah Bazzi said the organization also delivered boxed meals to the families who could not make it to the location.

“One of the things I love about this particular holiday is that many of the families come from other countries, which helps immerse these families into the American traditions of both the origins of our country and the idea of family and gathering and thankfulness,” she said. 

Bazzi added that helping needy Arab American families is also important because many of them are marginalized women with children.

Bazzi said altruism is deeply engrained in Muslim and Arab cultures.

“It’s a way of life,” she said.