The Ismaili Jamatkhana and Center (IJKC) in Sugar Land was transformed into a bustling site on December 7, 2018, as countless individuals made their way to donate thousands of pounds of food. For the third consecutive year, IJKC hosted the annual ABC 13 Share Your Holidays Food Drive where over 100 I-CERV volunteers gather to help collect, package, and transport over 30,000 pounds of donated food to the East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry, located in Stafford, Texas.

A junior in high school, Insha Merchant has been blessed with experiences that would be the envy of students her age.

In the summer of 2017, Insha participated in Global Encounters,  the international service and leadership development camp that annually brings together Ismaili youth from multiple countries and diverse cultures. Although she would be one of the 720 participants since its inception in 2012, hers would be the first camp to be based in Pakistan. As part of the camp, Insha had the opportunity to spend a week in the beautiful and pristine Gilgit and Hunza in Northern Pakistan.

On August 18 and 19,650 members of the Midwest Jamat and neighboring communities of Chicago, Glenview, Milwaukee and Naperville, collaborated with Illinois' Feed My Starving Children to prepare and pack nutritionally complete meals for malnourished children around the world. In six hours, this group of volunteers was able to pack over 155,000 meals, enough to provide food for 420 children for a full year.

The annual Global Encounters program brings together Ismaili youth from the around the world to provide a broad, global perspective, ground students in the ethics of our faith, and inspire them to be change-makers in their home communities and the world at large. But, for many participants, the experience has a long-lasting impact on their lives.

Twenty-four youth from Long Island and New York Jamatkhana were presented with this award, signed by the President of the United States, at a ceremony on June 30, 2018 at Great Neck Library, Long Island.