Special needs children and their families, were given a much-needed break together as a group at a lunch, organized for Thanksgiving day, by the Rotary e-Club of Sunshine, New York. As part of the Club's 2025-26 District Grant project, the event brought together about 55 people most of them special needs children and their care-giving families, at a restaurant in Jamaica, Queens.
It was a break for these families, as they rarely get to go out together as a group. The families got to know each other and the children - some of them already young adults made new friends. The event was put together by club member Mohammed Tofayel Ahmed, who connected the families together.
The gathering also laid the ground work for a new cause-based Club to be formed shortly through the newly-created North American Club Creation Team. Many of the attendees signed up to be charter members of this new Club in formation. Rotarian Tofayel will be the Charter President of the Club.
DGE Dr. Maksud Chowdhury, PDG Mahbub Ahmad and North American Club Creation Team Founding Member Bina Ahmad, as well as representatives of the Rotary Clubs of Promise, Hope, Heritage and Sunshine were also present. Rubaiya Rahman, CEO of the Autism Society Habilitation Organization (ASHO) was a speaker at the event.
To protect the privacy of the special needs children, their pictures are not published.