Dear Friend,
As you know, the Interfaith Center of New York works to overcome prejudice, violence, and misunderstanding by activating the power of the city’s grassroots religious and civic leaders and their communities. And in the current political climate, our work has never been more important. As Donald Trump calls for a ban on Muslim immigration to the United States – leading to a wave of bias crimes against Muslim Americans, and an increase in religiously-motivated bullying in schools – we are standing with our religiously diverse neighbors. And we need your help.
While ICNY works to mitigate the effects of religiously-intolerant speech by unscrupulous politicians, we continue with our day-to-day programs–matching diverse faith volunteers with formerly incarcerated men and women in Harlem, hosting our Rabbi Marshall Meyer Retreats on Social Justice at the Ganesh Temple in Queens, and working with Muslim New Yorkers and their allies for a just resolution to unwarranted police surveillance.
To continue this vital work now, we must raise $200,000 before the end of our 2016 fiscal year, June 30th. On behalf of the staff and Board of The Interfaith Center of New York, we urge you to give at the same level or greater than you have in years past – a gift of $25, $50, or $200. All donations will support ICNY’s mission to overcome prejudice, violence, and misunderstanding by activating the power of the city’s grassroots religious and civic leaders and their communities.
Because of your 2015 donation:
- We continued to hold our annual Rabbi Marshal Meyer Retreat, which strengthened relationships among religious leaders, community activists and government officials. This summer’s MMR “Youth Speak Out on Religious Diversity and the Future of New York,” Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Baha’i and secular kids will meet at the Hindu Temple of North America to respond to the present climate of religious bigotry and xenophobia and articulate a more positive future for New York City.
- Working with the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, we helped bring attention to US Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan’s post-San Bernardino letter to school districts around the country seeking to prevent “harassment of students based on race, religion, or national origin.” We sent the letter out to our national NEH Summer Institute alumnae network as well as city and local partner in the New York City schools.
- We made significant progress in fostering healthy relationships between Muslim and Catholic communities. For the last five years, we worked with both Muslim and Catholic service providers in all of the five boroughs to fight hunger, assist with immigration concerns, and create youth service opportunities.
- We remained active in our summer partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities and Union Theological Seminary to provide religious diversity education and training for teachers around the country. This July, once again, 25 educators from eight different states will attend our three week NEH Summer Institute “Religious Worlds of New York.”
- We have advocated for religious freedom and civil rights in the public square, standing with Muslim, Sikh, South Asian and African American communities on the issues of police-community relations, surveillance, and profiling. At the same time, understanding the need for education about religious diversity, we have produced a training video for the New York Police Department providing practical tips on how to build trust between immigrant faith communities and the police.
These programs and initiatives are core to the Interfaith Center’s values and your support is crucial to the success of ICNY’s mission. To make a donation, please DONATE NOW. We thank you for helping make New York safe for religious diversity.
Sincerely,
The Rev Chloe Breyer
Executive Director
The Very Rev. James Parks Morton
Founder and Chair Emeritus
