Dear CAIR-Chicago Supporters,

On behalf of our chairman, Dr. Mazen Kudaimi, the board of directors, staff, and volunteers, we wish to thank you for making our 11th Annual Banquet a memorable and enjoyable evening! The feedback has been positive with some suggesting that this was one of the most diverse Muslim galas in Chicago. We were humbled by the buzz on social media following the event using our hashtag #CAIRimpact.

Watch TV Coverage: The event that was covered by ABC 7 News.

Photo Gallery: Find yourself in our photo gallery

View the captivating images from our banquet.

(Photos are courtesy of professional and talented photographers: Tarik Rasidagic, Samir Biscevic, Renner Larson, Hossam El-Shikh, and Fatima Ahmed.)

Attendance:

We are grateful to have SOLD OUT at over 1000 attendees representing the diversity in Chicagoland and the tri-state area, in terms of ethnicity, age, gender, and profession.

Sponsors: We are also thankful for the tremendous support of our key partners from the Chicagoland mosques, coalitions, interfaith groups, companies, as well as our official sponsors (see list here).

Speakers: This year, the event was star-studded with many special speakers : Safaa Zarzour delivered a keen reminder of our commitment to supporting the cause of civil rights.

Repeating the successful format of last year's Anniversary Gala, we hosted two great speakers, Usama Canon and Dalia Mogahed, in a fluid talk show style discussion anchored by local anchor and performer Mariam Sobh.

Recognition: We wish to thank the 75 public officials including Senator Durbin, eight congressmen, Mayor Emanuel, and a record breaking number of state, city, and county officials who sent us letters of support this year, and those officials who attended our banquet including the consul generals of France and the Philippines.

Volunteers: This year's banquet was presided over by 100 staff and volunteers who were hard to miss all decked out in their red and black uniforms! We wish to thank the amazing volunteers who worked incredibly hard to present the community with an evening befitting of its stature.

The Film: One of the most talked about segments of the evening was the new CAIR-Chicago documentary “Impact”. Escalating the high caliber set by last year's documentary, this year's film illustrated the important rolls Muslims play in American society. We wish to thank our amazing friend and filmmaker Jacob Linden for helping us bring our vision to screen. Look out for the YouTube video link later this week.

Fundraising: We raised $194,000 of our $300,000 goal (our annual budget is $700,000). It was touching to see the names and organizations on our pledge list - those who never falter in heeding the call even in tough times. CAIR-Chicago is dependent on the support of our mosques, partner organizations and the community to continue our work in civil rights advocacy and, unfortunately, we fell short of our fundraising goal. Please help us meet our goal by donating online today.

Finally: We wish to thank you all once again. Our work could not succeed without your support. You came in large numbers and showed why Chicago’s Muslims are a proud, strong, united community. You made the 11th Annual Banquet a memorable one. Thanks for all of you who wanted to come but could not and supported us via our online donation page.

Please stay tuned to our website: www.cairchicago.org.

- The CAIR-Chicago Team

FIND YOURSELF IN OUR PHOTO GALLERY!

Photography by Tarik Rasidagic, Samir Biscevic, Renner Larson, Hossam El-Shikh, and Fatima Ahmed.