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Zoroastrian Association
of Metropolitan Chicago
Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd

Author Archive for ZAMC – Page 2

Posted by ZAMC 
· March 17, 2020 

COVID-19 Task Force

Call for Volunteers

Dear fellow community members and friends,

We hope and trust you are coping well given the significant disruption to life and impact on health created by the ongoing public health crisis known commonly as COVID-19 or the Coronavirus. 

The purpose of this post is two-fold:

1. To advise that all ZAC events planned for April and beyond have been postponed until further notice. In keeping with our stance on protecting the health and well-being of our community, ZAC has to err on the side of caution and to ensure proper precautions are taken. We will be communicating with you frequently and will update you with new developments and announcements as events warrant.

2. Call for Volunteers | ZAC COVID-19 Task Force: we are pleased to announce that we have formed a special COVID-19 Task Force aimed at helping the most vulnerable members of our community with the help they need, and ultimately reducing the risk of exposure within our small but resilient community. 

If you have the ability and interest to volunteer, even in a small way, please send an email to zamc@zamc.org with your name, the town/county you live in and your mobile phone number. We will register you as a volunteer and will reach out to you with next steps. 

Following are ways in which Task Force volunteers can provide critical assistance:

  • Making trips to/from grocery stores or pharmacies to safely pick up and drop off food, household necessities or medication for those, mainly our elderly, who are compelled to stay home and avoid the risk of being exposed to the virus.
  • Well-checks: from moms and dads working from home with young children to our single populations and elderly living alone who can not even visit their grandchildren, we would like our Task Force volunteers to pick up the phone and see how they are doing. Sometimes just a 15-minute conversation can bring joy to someone’s life! Now is the time to show you care, to be a Zarathushti, and call on your fellow community members who you think may be in need. 
  • Donations: Visit our web site and donate to the Welfare fund – please list COVID-19 in the memo section and we’ll make sure those dollars are used toward helping and supporting those in need. Donating starts with a visit to: www.zamc.org/donate

Thanks for your time and attention to this matter. Together, we will make a difference in the lives of those in need, and reduce the many risks associated with this virus.

Read more for more information about the virus, risks, symptoms and what you can do to keep yourself safe.

Read More →
Categories : All posts
Posted by ZAMC 
· March 11, 2020 

All events for March 2020 are cancelled

Dear fellow community members and friends,

We are sorry to report that all March events scheduled at ZAC have been cancelled due to the ongoing health threat posed by the COVID-19 virus, more commonly known as the Coronavirus. 

As there is no known cure for this virus, and as the medical community, local, state, and federal government officials manage this crisis, it is incumbent on those of us in local leadership positions to act swiftly and proactively to reduce the spread of this unknown and dangerous disease. 

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that has now spread to every continent. It is particularly dangerous for the elderly and those afflicted with pre-existing medical conditions and weaker immune systems. It is spread from person to person (close contact with one another within six feet and through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes), as well as through community spread, meaning some people have been infected who are not sure how or where they became infected. 

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF:

There is currently no vaccine to prevent Coronavirus disease. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus.

  • Avoid close contact with people
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
  • Stay home when you are sick
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds 
  • Monitor local news and visit www.cdc.gov for tips on effective handwashing and other preventive measures

IF YOU FEEL SICK:

If you start feeling sick with fever, cough and shortness of breath, please do the following:

  • Immediately contact your doctor’s office by phone – do not go in to your healthcare provider without calling in first
  • Stay home and do not go to work
  • Cover your coughs and sneezes
  • Clean your hands often


A NOTE ABOUT HOARDING SUPPLIES:

Please do not hoard items essential for medical professionals, like hand sanitizer and face masks. Face masks in particular are only effective in preventing the infection from passing from you to others. Hoarding such supplies can in fact increase the chances of someone else passing the virus on to you because they were unable to procure face masks for themselves.Moreover, medical professionals need these critical supplies. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMON SENSE SOCIAL DISTANCING:

In daily life we urge you to exercise caution and common sense social distancing: avoid unnecessary travel, both personal and business, and avoid places where large groups of people might congregate, such as malls and sporting events.

As board members, it is our highest duty to ensure the health and safety of our membership. ZAC remains a safe and clean venue and we expect to keep it that way. Making small adjustments to our daily lives helps keep us all safe, and postponing all March ZAC events is an important measure toward that end. 

We will continue to keep you advised and invite you to send any questions or concerns to us at zamc@zamc.org. 

For the latest on the Coronavirus we encourage you to monitor local news and visit www.cdc.gov

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd!
May we be united in strength and righteousness!
~ ZAC Board of Directors

Categories : All posts
Posted by ZAMC 
· March 7, 2020 
· No Comments

March 2020 Newsletter

Nowruz Pirooz!

Wishing each of you, your family and loved ones a very happy Nowruz! March is our busiest ZAC month of programming, and with it each year comes the joy of Nowruz, a New Day. We usher in the Spring equinox during this special time, we begin to watch flowers bud, foliage come to life, birds chirping, sunnier days, and the renewal of personal resolutions as a new year unfolds. 

This month’s newsletter is packed with a variety of events and we sincerely hope you will get involved. From gahambars and the Dar ni Pori Bake-a-thon, to our sponsorship of the Oriental Institute’s Persian Nowruz Celebration, our annual Nowruz celebration, and ZAC Clean-Up Day. 

March is about participation and getting involved in whatever capacity you can. It’s also a popular time to renew your membership to our beloved ZAC. So let’s join together this month to usher in a new year of growth and interconnectedness. On behalf of the entire board of directors, thank you for your participation, for your ideas, for your generosity, and for building the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd!
May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Read more in the complete March 2020 newsletter

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Categories : All posts, Newsletters
Tags : mar-2020, newsletter
Posted by ZAMC 
· February 6, 2020 
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February 2020 Newsletter

2020: The Year of Vision

For decades, the Zoroastrian community in North America has advanced thanks to the energy, foresight, and ultimately, having a vision for the future. The ‘Pioneer’ generation as they are appropriately referred to, have sewn the seeds for future generations by building community, from physical structures to constitutions, that ultimately paved the way for organizations to manage themselves, grow their memberships and thrive in a new diaspora.

This year, 2020 for obvious literal reasons represents the year of vision, and we use this opportunity to redouble our efforts to chart a course for the future; to ask ourselves questions focused on where we want to be in 2050, how we get there, what we envision for our children and our children’s children. Last month, ZAC started this process attracting members 50 years of age and under. As you’ll read in the newsletter on page 3, we will be holding another for those aged 50+.

Our special thanks to Zinnia Elavia for leading the way on this critical series of important focus groups! Our vision is our future. We look forward to your input!

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd!
May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Read more in the complete February 2020 newsletter

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Tags : feb-2020, newsletter
Posted by ZAMC 
· January 16, 2020 
· No Comments

January 2020 Newsletter

Ava Project Update

As members will be aware, we had taken a loan of $350,000 from Providence Bank to fund the Ava Project. Since we started making loan payments in May 2018, we had already paid over $29,000 in interest. Had we continued making payments until our 5 year payoff plan, we would have ended up paying interest charges of over $51,000.

Thanks to the exemplary efforts of our Ava Project committee, the generosity of our members, and extraordinary fundraising efforts of our volunteers, in December 2019 we found ourselves in a position to pay off the loan and reduce our future interest burden. The ZAC board immediately made an unanimous decision to pay off the Providence Bank loan by supplementing the balance through a temporary transfer of $91,405 from our General Fund.

With the grace of Ahura Mazda and your ongoing generosity, we have paid off our loan and saved over $22,000 in interest payments over the next 3+ years. However, this payoff still leaves our General Fund $91,405 short of breaking even on our total Ava Project expenses.

As we enter 2020, we would like to renew our appeal to our members to continue meeting your pledges and donating generously towards the Ava Project so that we can recover the $91,405 balance and successfully close the books on Ava Project this year itself!

Further financial details are published in the January 2020 newsletter below.

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd!
May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Read more in the complete January 2020 newsletter

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Categories : All posts, Newsletters
Tags : jan-2020, newsletter
Posted by ZAMC 
· December 12, 2019 
· No Comments

December 2019 Newsletter

ZAC’s First-Ever Youth Project Fair Attracts Record Turnout

We have yet another reason to be so proud, not only in the promise of our youth, but in the way our community came together to make an historic event truly successful. Nov. 17 brought together students of our religion classes, their teachers, parents and the community as a whole, to celebrate the power of religious education, creativity and visualization at the first-ever Youth Project Fair. 

In Science Fair style and format, our students put together large display boards and realistic visual arrangements to highlight specific elements of the Zarathushti faith. From Persian Gardens and Nowruz Haft-Seen tables to on-stage presentations on religious principles and history, our youth and their talents were shining. 

We would be remiss to not give a huge thank you to Zenobia Damania, Persis Driver, Persis Guard and Khursheed Ichaporia for their selfless devotion, creative curriculum and boundless energy in encouraging our youth to think outside the box; and to promote learning through research, visualization and presenting their findings to others. We also would like to thank the parents for their support, time and energy in helping guide their children through the project’s success. 

This important event shows that when we come together we energize our community, infuse our youth with knowledge and confidence, and show once again why Chicago leads the way as a trailblazing Zarathushti community in North America.

Hamāzor Hamā Ashō-bēd!

May we all be united in strength and righteousness!

Read more in the complete December 2019 newsletter

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Categories : All posts, Newsletters
Tags : dec-2019, newsletter
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