World Humanitarian Day: You Never Know Who's Looking for Your Help

Every August 19th, the world pauses to honor the people who show up for others when it matters most. World Humanitarian Day was born out of tragedy, but it has become something else, too: a reminder that ordinary people carry this work and show up because they believe someone should. 

At Zakat Foundation of America, that belief has thousands of faces behind it: volunteers packing boxes on Saturday mornings, coordinators building trust door by door, and communities that show up for each other because someone showed up for them first. 

A Year of Service, Measured in People

In 2025, Zakat Foundation of America’s Outreach and Engagement program turned that belief into action across the United States. 5,689 volunteers dedicated 26,043 hours of service, reaching 142,734 beneficiaries through 1,550 outreach events nationwide. From emergency food distributions to refugee welcome efforts, youth backpack drives, senior support visits, and winter relief for vulnerable communities, they remembered everyone with their heartfelt efforts.  

None of it happens in isolation; Zakat Foundation of America partners with mosques, churches, schools, and local leaders nationwide, turning a delivery into a relationship and a program into a community. 

Why It Matters: One Meal Turns into a Ripple

Hasna Farrukh, Zakat Foundation of America’s New Jersey Community Outreach Coordinator, has watched what a single act of service can set in motion. She remembers a mother whose family had been split across different shelters, already carrying the weight of not knowing when they'd be reunited, still trying to manage the basics of daily life. When Zakat Foundation of America brought hot meals to her shelter, the relief was visible. "For that evening, she did not have to worry about finding food for herself," Hasna recalled. 

What happened next is the part that stayed with Hasna. The mother immediately asked if meals could also reach the shelter where her daughter was staying. One delivery became two. "It showed me how one meal can become much more than food," Hasna said. "It can offer comfort during a frightening time, connect us to people we may not have otherwise reached, and remind a family that they have not been forgotten." 

That's the part of outreach that never makes it into a report: the trust-building, the willingness to notice when one need points to another, along with weeks of coordinating partners and supplies behind every few-hour distribution. "You continue thinking about the people you met," Hasna said, "and how to support them in a meaningful and dignified way." 

For Hasna, faith frames all of it. She returns often to a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (on him be peace): "Allah helps His slave as long as he helps his brother (Sahih Muslim 2699)." And she carries with her something a woman told her at a senior center: "You are so blessed that Allah is using you to help people fulfill a pillar of their deen (Zakat)." That comment reframed Hasna’s role entirely: standing between two acts of worship, the giver fulfilling an obligation and the receiver finding relief through it. 

Marium's Story: What It Looks Like to Show Up

Marium volunteers with Zakat Foundation of America’s New Jersey chapter, and it started with a gap she could see plainly in the community she'd lived in her whole life. "There is a sincere need in our communities," she told us, "And Zakat Foundation of America is one of those organizations that stands up to address that need. Being part of the solution to finally offer that relief is very rewarding." 

A typical day doesn't look glamorous. It looks like a team at a home base center, assembling grocery boxes and hygiene kits, then fanning out across the state to deliver them "always with a warm smile." The hardest part isn't the labor; it's logistics. Coordinating people, schedules, and locations consistently is a real challenge. But it's also where Marium found something unexpected: quiet admiration for the sheer dedication it takes to run programs like this for hundreds of people, week after week. 

Marium's faith runs underneath all of it. "It is a privilege," she said, "to be in this position where we can be of service." She's candid, too, about still being new to her chapter; she hasn't yet worked with a family face-to-face, and her role so far has been behind the scenes. It's proof that meaningful volunteer work doesn't always look like the dramatic, front-line moment people imagine — sometimes it's the box you packed that someone else delivered, and that box still changes a life. 

Volunteering with Zakat Foundation of America has changed her own trajectory, too. Working from home, Marium found in this community something she was missing with people gathering around something that mattered, and that’s part of what's now pulling her toward a career in social work. 

If You Don't Know Where to Start

Marium's advice is refreshingly simple: reach out to a local organization. "They are always open and grateful for any help you can provide," she said. Social media is often the fastest route in, and you don't need a special skill set. "Everyone has a skill set and unique talent to offer," she said. "Don't be afraid to take the leap." 

Hasna, who's coordinated hundreds of volunteers, echoes it: "Start with what Allah has already placed in your hands — your time, your skills, your resources, your voice." You don't need to change the world in one afternoon. "Start by challenging yourself to make a move," she said, "and then work towards changing one moment for one person. That moment may become the hope they needed to keep going." 

You need a few hours, a willingness to show up, and a place to plug in. Zakat Foundation of America has that place ready for you — delivering meals, welcoming a refugee family, packing boxes or lending a hand at your local chapter. 

This August 19th, don't just observe World Humanitarian Day.  

Be the reason someone isn’t alone.