Rebecca E. '25 Receives Families4Families Bronze Medal for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award

Congratulations to Rebecca E. '25 on her outstanding dedication to serving our community and around the world! Please find the letter of recognition we received from Families4Families.

Good morning Bullis Team!

We hope this email finds you well. We are writing to commend the remarkable community service efforts carried out by Rebecca E. '25, a sophomore at your esteemed institution, in collaboration with the Bullis Families4Families Chapter. Their outstanding dedication and impact throughout this school year deserve recognition and celebration.

Rebecca's exceptional commitment to community service has earned her the prestigious Bronze Medal for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, underscoring her unwavering efforts and remarkable achievements. Alongside the Bullis Families4Families Chapter, Rebecca has played a leading role in a significant initiative to support Afghan Refugees within our community. Through their selfless actions, they have provided vital assistance, including food and aid, enabling these refugees to regain their self-sufficiency and no longer require external support.

We believe it is crucial to highlight and celebrate this success story within the Bullis School community. The dedication and impact of Rebecca and the Bullis Families4Families Chapter serve as an inspiring example of the immense potential and compassion that your students possess. We kindly request your support in acknowledging and recognizing their remarkable achievements, as it would motivate and inspire other students to engage in community service, fostering a culture of empathy and proactive involvement.

On May 6, 2023 Families4Families hosted our End-of-Year Student Celebration where Rebecca not only received her Presidential Volunteer Service Award, but she also received the Families4Families Emerging Leader Award! Her consistency and dedication makes her a stand out leader and it was a joy to be able to recognize her accomplishments alongside her family.

Below you will find a more in-depth description of Bullis' relationship to Families4Families and its impact on the Afghan community.

Warm regards,

Shariah Dunwell
Program Coordinator, families4families.org

Bullis' Relationship to Families4Families and its Impact on the Afghan Community

In August 2021, Hameedi, his wife, and five children urgently fled their home in Afghanistan because of the violence and direct threats of the Taliban. They told neighbors they were leaving for vacation, left their home and all of their belongings, and never returned. They landed in Washington, D.C., and sought asylum as refugees.

Like many others in his situation, Hameedi faced numerous challenges in his new home in the United States. He struggled to provide for his family and put food on the table. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the struggles Hameedi‘s family faced. When Families4Families' (F4F) board member Jeffrey Drichta heard Hameedi's story, he immediately jumped into action to help Hameedi find a job, and F4F called on Rebecca E. '25 and the Bullis Families4Families Student Chapter to help feed his family.

Bullis's F4F students were determined to make a difference. They rallied together and launched a donation drive to collect food and other supplies for Hameedi and his family. They reached out to friends, family, and their community to spread the word about the collection and the urgent need for community support.

Meanwhile, Hameedi began identifying other refugees in his apartment complex who had similarly been displaced by the Taliban and were in need of food and basic supplies. Hameedi and Rebecca began organizing monthly grocery delivery events at the complex to help these asylum seekers as well. In all, Bullis F4F students and others in the F4F network delivered 6,150 meals to Hameedi and his neighbors from April 2022 to February 2023.

Through this community support, Hameedi, his family, and the other refugee families in this network were able to worry less about where their next meal would come from and focus on creating a new life in America. Less than two years later, Hameedi has a full-time job that provides him with enough income to pay for rent, groceries, and clothes for his family. As of February 2023, all refugees in Hameedi's community network are gainfully employed and no longer in need of any form of public assistance. In March 2023, Hameedi told F4F, on behalf of himself and his neighbors, that they no longer needed Bullis’s and F4F’s support and asked that we focus our efforts on assisting other families in need.

Their efforts showed that by working together, communities can overcome even the most challenging of circumstances. The Bullis F4F Chapter and Hameedi were a shining example of hope and compassion.