About
WHAT WE DO
My First Heroes is a “sadaqah jariyah” project – meaning we hope to generate good for generations to come, inshallah! We aim to contribute all proceeds from the sales of educational materials on character building towards 3 main initiatives:
1.
Sharing Beneficial Knowledge
Equipping families to help nurture everyday heroes.
2.
Children’s Wellbeing
Donating meals to children without access to regular, healthy meals.
3.
Environmental Wellbeing
Working to be carbon negative – ensuring we do not hurt the environment by our paper-usage etc.
OUR TEAM
Latifa Barnett
Board Member
Latifa is currently the Co-Director of Al Hadi Learning Organization in Silver Spring, MD and a Mathematics professor at Montgomery College. Her professional teaching career has spanned 30 years. During this time, she has worked in both public and private schools as well as colleges. Latifa is also a passionate proponent of home education, she has spent the last 18 years teaching her six children and supported more than ten families through their homeschool journeys.
Marium Abdur Rahman
Co-Author, Board Member
Marium A. Rahman is an educator, author, and artist. Marium completed a degree in English and Economics, as well as Secondary Education certification from UofM-D and has led numerous youth community initiatives. She also completed a certification for Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Stanford University and has taught design thinking to gifted & talented students at Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development. She enjoys trying new recipes, reading, and crafts.
Reem Rahman
Co-Author, Board Member
Reem Rahman is passionate about creating social impact and open access to learning. She co-created the Systems Change Masterclass by Ashoka, Changemaking.net – Tools to Spark Deeper Change, The Art of Storytelling Workshop , and the Feedback Dashboard for thousands of social entrepreneurs to exchange feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. She has authored articles and research such as “What is a Changemaker”, “Busting the Lone Hero Myth”, “Innovations in Financial Wellbeing”, and “Youth Unstuck: Innovations in Livelihoods”. Reem graduated with an MSc in Management Research from the University of Oxford.
Ruby Rahman
Sales Director
Ruby is an educator with over two decades of experience serving as an elementary school teacher, principal, and special needs assistant. She has a passion for community building and serves on the board of her neighborhood association.
Amina Sharif
Board Member
Amina Sharif is passionate about civil rights, learning Arabic, and supporting community development initiatives. She has worked at and served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations, and has a Masters degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.
Muryum Siddiqui
Marketing Director
Muryum Siddiqui is an educator, artist and philanthropist. She has a Bachelors in Mathematics and Education and a passion for working with kids. From starting an Urdu Playgroup, to being a Girl Scout leader for eight years, to donating her art pieces to charities, she stays active in her community and tries to use her talents and abilities to advocate for others around the world, near or far.
OUR STORY
Sisters-in-law Marium A. Rahman and Reem Rahman teamed up to turn bedtime stories for toddlers into something that they could share. It took more than 5 years while juggling their roles as full time moms to bring this to fruition. We worked to ensure every part of the stories was rooted in specific parts of the Quran that can be cited, tried to simplify and rhyme to keep a young age group engaged, user tested with dozens of parents, had scholarly reviews of the content, and ensured none of the illustrations could be confused as depicting any people. We are honored by the ongoing support of our community in every part of the effort. It would not be possible without the ongoing support of our families, teachers, elders, and friends.
OUR VALUES
We are a social enterprise, committed to operating with a triple-bottom-line by being as ethical as we can in regards to 1) people 2) planet and 3) profits. To do this, our values include being:
1.
Excellent
We hope to do what is most pleasing to Allah in both big and small decisions – whatever is kindest to the people, communities, and planet around us.
2.
Transparent
We hope to share as much of our journey as possible to ensure we are held accountable to the highest standards, and can help inspire others on their ways to be “everyday heroes” as well, inshallah!
3.
Multi-generational
We hope to build an initiative that can thrive without its founders, and continue to create good for generations to come, inshallah.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My First Heroes acknowledges that Chicago, where we are based, has been inhabited and sustained by Native Americans since time immemorial and into the present. Chicago includes unceded land and has the third-largest population of urbanized Native Americans in the United States. Sign-up to learn about events by the American Indian Center in Chicago, learn more about the importance of land acknowledgment through Native Governance Center, and learn more about Chicago’s Native American community today.