A Happy Thanksgiving to All

At ING we want to wish all of you a very blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving with your family and friends as we remember to give thanks for the many bounties we enjoy in our lives. 

Islam, like other faith traditions, emphasizes the importance of giving thanks, not only to God but to other people. Expressing gratitude and being grateful is mentioned in various Quranic verses and prophetic sayings including one that explains that “If one is thankful to God, He will increase His favors” (14:7). A famous prophetic saying (hadith) states that “one who fails to thank other people fails to thank God.”

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters, volunteers, and staff, who not only provide a continuous source of support and guidance for ING, but for their dedication to fighting bigotry and intolerance at a time when Islamophobia is at an all-time high, and a deep commitment to fairness and justice. Thanks for helping us to do the work we do!

Honoring a Bay Area Philanthropist:
ING Trustee and Chairman of Board of Directors Randy Pond

We would especially like to recognize the long-time and ongoing support of ING Trustee Chairman of the board of directors, Randy Pond. He was honored for his exemplary record last Friday as the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser at the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ annual Philanthropy Day luncheon in Santa Clara.

Per a recent article about him in the San Jose Mercury News, Pond has been involved with several nonprofits. He has led fundraising campaigns for or sat on the board of Second Harvest Food Bank, American Leadership Forum, the South Bay chapter of the March of Dimes, the Children’s Discovery Museum and the San Jose-based Islamic Networks Group, with which he became involved to help combat the ‘rampant Islamophobia’ he said he saw taking hold after the 9/11 attacks.

It is leaders and visionaries like Randy, who continue to work towards fairness, inclusion, and equality that ensure that this community and our country can be a place of hope and success for all its diverse members.