JORDAN: Embassy Amman Hosts Community Service Charity

UNCLAS AMMAN 002345 SIPDIS FOR IIP/NEA-SCA HIGGINS; NEA/PPD AGNEW; NEA/ELA GREGONIS E.O. 12958 N/A TAGS: TAGS SUBJECT: JORDAN: Embassy Amman Hosts Community Service Charity Events REF: A) 09 STATE 92631, B)09 STATE 89406, C) 09 STATE 77580 ¶1. SUMMARY. In cooperation with the Greater Amman Municipality, the Embassy organized a Day of Community Service October 15, in which Embassy volunteers planted trees, painted benches, and cleaned up debris at a park in an underprivileged neighborhood in East Amman. The event commemorated the anniversary of September 11, 2001, in the United States and the Amman hotel bombings of November 9, 2005, and sent a message of goodwill, cooperation, and shared interest to the host community. In addition, Embassy personnel have underscored this spirit of volunteerism in other recent charity events - including a walk-a-thon to support sports and health programs for children, the Annual International Bazaar to raise money for orphans, and the Amman marathon to support the King Hussein Cancer Center. END SUMMARY. -------------- Day of Community Service -------------- ¶2. About 30 Embassy volunteers rolled up their sleeves to plant 40 trees, paint benches, and clean up debris at Al-Hashemiyeh Traffic Park on October 15. The park is located in an underserved area in East Amman and was identified by the Municipality as in need of rehabilitation. Launching the event, Ambassador Beecroft highlighted the shared desires of Jordanians and Americans to improve the everyday lives of their fellow citizens. "This is a very special day for us, as we work with our Jordanian friends in the spirit of volunteerism and unity," he said. He also noted that the staff of the Jordanian Embassy in Washington D.C. organized a similar event at Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School in August. ¶3. The event commemorated the anniversary of September 11 in the United States and the 2005 Amman hotel bombings. It also dove-tailed with the President's call to community service and Secretary Clinton's commitment to local partnerships exemplified by the United We Serve campaign. Speaking at the event, Tagreed Fakhoury, Greater Amman Municipality Executive Director for Social Affairs and Sustainability, welcomed the joint initiative of "working hand in hand to upgrade services provided to the Jordanian community at large." ¶4. The Day of Community Service received wide coverage in the media. Three dailies -- Al-Rai, Ad-Dustour Arabic and the Jordan Times English -- carried reports with some photos in their local news insides pages, focusing primarily on the press release that was issued by Public Affairs. The Embassy also posted information and photos on its website and Facebook page. -------------- Plans for Park Rehabilitation -------------- ¶5. The Day of Community Service represented the first phase of a two-part project to rehabilitate Al-Hashemiyeh Traffic Park. The second phase, planned for later this year, will be a donation ceremony in which the Embassy will unveil new park equipment and carry out additional community service activities with schoolchildren and Municipality officials. That event will cap a year-long celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic and development relations between the United States and Jordan. -------------- Other Charity Events -------------- ¶6. In addition to the Day of Community Service/Park Rehabilitation project, Embassy personnel have underscored a spirit of volunteerism in other recent charity events. About 30 members of the mission community pledged money and/or participated in a walk-a-thon October 2 organized by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Alumni Network Association and the organization Right to Play to support sports and health programs for children. More than 60 members contributed their time and efforts at the Annual International Bazaar October 10 to raise money for orphans of Mabarrat Um Al-Hussein and help unfortunate families in Jordan. And more than 50 participated in the Amman International Marathon October 17 to raise money and awareness for the King Hussein Cancer Center. BEECROFT