Our goal through this campaign is to send Ilyas & Duck books to 5,000 public libraries across America! 

Why? Because kids see themselves through books.  Because books are able to harness the power of storytelling to communicate thoughts, ideas and cultures in engaging ways.  And when these stories include Muslim characters and are made accessible in public places, they help represent our children's unique Muslim identity.  In this way our kids feel validated and included. And that's empowering.

Just think how excited we adults get when a large company, like Google, includes Muslims in its ad. That's the kind of impact and feeling we need to establish for our kids.  That's what this campaign is about.

Yes!  We already began this campaign with libraries in Virginia. After checking the catalog, it was awesome to see that the books were consistently checked out! 

Since public libraries are easily accessible to people of all backgrounds, this means that Muslims and non-muslims are reading the books!  So it's clear to see how this campaign has tremendous potential.

Imagine the feeling for a young Muslim child when they walk into their local public library and see characters that can represent them.  When their school friends and neighbors can read about, understand, and appreciate your child's Muslim identity.  How empowering would that be for our children?  This goal is possible.  So let's work together.

For this campaign to be successful, I’m asking you to contribute what you can towards our funding goal.  To make it fun, we've carved the map of the U.S. into 10 regions/communities that we'll be tracking to see which community is contributing the most toward our goal.  We'll share the results with you so you can see exactly where your community ranks in its support of this important campaign.  

Where will your community rank?  Let the competition begin!

If we exceed our funding goal, we'll have a chance to stretch the impact we can make on young Muslim kids and take Islamic learning to a whole new level.  The more support we get, the higher Ilyas & Duck can climb the mountain, and the more we'll be able to create awesome new content for your kids to enjoy.

Here's what's possible if we work together.   Just imagine...

• More storybooks, more frequently! 
• Fun new online Islamic learning experience
• Highly Interactive games & apps
• Amazing YouTube animation series
• Cuddly plush play pals
• Traveling puppet shows 
• ...and lots more! 

You may donate any amount you like or choose a contribution level based on many awesome rewards.  Either way you're sure to get a warm and fuzzy feeling that comes with making a difference for thousands of young Muslim kids.  To help you choose a reward level, we've summarized them in a neat graphic below.

Here's an account of how we're going to allocate all your contributions to this campaign.  Each amount represents the cost to execute that item.  Stack the costs and the total amount required increases. Note that the stretch goals begin once the campaign goal of $85,000 is reached. 

1. Contribute - Sponsor part of the project, even if just one book, with a contribution today!

2. Share - Please share this project on your Facebook wall, Twitter, over email & through conversations with family & friends. The more people we get to share in this project, the quicker we will reach our goal!

3. Connect - Stay connected with us through Facebook & Twitter!

Omar is a Muslim American born in Saudi Arabia with family roots in Pakistan. He grew up in New York and now lives in the Washington D.C area with his wife, three young children, and lots of noise.