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Among 11 philanthropists
Al Hamtoor tops donors to UARRC
Mr. Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Chairman of Al Habtoor Group, is the number one
donor among 11 philanthropists who have donated the most to support charity
programs run by the UAE Red Crescent Society.
Beside Mr. Al Habtoor, the list includes Jumaa Al Naboodah, Saeed Al Naboodah,
Mohammad Al Naboodah, Abdul Azeez Al Ghurair, Hamad Bin Rhama Al Shamsi, Ahmad
Ali Al Abdullah, Abdul Raheem Balghazooz Al Zarouni, Jumaa Al Majid, Hamad Ameen
Kazim, and Saif Balhasa, said Mr. Mohammad Al Zarouni, Director General of UAERC.
“Opportunities to take part in charity are always available for businessmen or
any other person in the UAE,” he said. “Those who live in the UAE are actually
indebted for the country which has provided them with security and stability to
work and run their businesses.”
Some of the most prominent businessmen in the country were missing from the list
of donors to Dubai Cares, a campaign to support education in poorer countries
launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice
President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai last September. However, such
apathy did not surprise charity workers. They said charity programs were used to
the absence of these businessmen from their activities in the country.
According to Al Zarouni, Dubai Cares might lose the support of many prominent
because it coincided with the season of alms-giving. However, Mr. Faraj Al
Kathiri, General Secretary of Ajman’s Dar Al Bir Society notes other reasons.
“Local and expatriate businessmen do not trust charity programs which have left
them away from supporting them. Moreover, many businessmen prefer to channel
their contributions outside the country claiming that the UAE has a small number
of needy people whose requirements can be easily covered,” he says.
Dubai Business and Civic Leader
Makes Gift to Illinois College Jacksonville, State of
Illinois, U.S.A
Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman of Al Habtoor Group LLC, in Dubai, the United
Arab Emirates, has agreed to support the establishment of a leadership center at
Illinois College, Jacksonville, State of Illinois, United States of America with
a gift of nearly one million dollars. The leadership center, which will bear Mr.
Al Habtoor’s name, will be established in Crampton Hall with the planned major
renovation of that historic building. Approximately $580,000 of Mr. Al Habtoor’s
gift will be allocated to construction and furnishing costs, and the remaining
funds will establish endowment funds to support programs of the Center and to
pay for a part-time curator of historic papers and other materials housed in the
Center.
A focal point of the Khalaf Al Habtoor Leadership Center will be a gift of
papers, personal items from around the world, furniture, and Lincoln artifacts
acquired by former Congressman Paul Findley during his nearly 40 years of public
service. Mr. Al Habtoor has made this generous gift in recognition of his long
friendship with Congressman Findley.
President Steuer commented on this gift by noting that the Khalaf Al Habtoor
Leadership Center will permit the College to highlight its remarkable history of
educating people for public service. These include the College’s first graduate,
William Yates, the Civil War Governor of Illinois and friend of Abraham Lincoln,
three-time candidate for United States President, William Jennings Bryan, and
more than twenty other graduates who went on to leadership roles in the United
States Congress or served as governors of various U. S. states and territories.
“The College takes justifiable pride in the many people who have served our
nation in important leadership roles. Consistent with the College’s mission of
educating students for fulfilling lives of leadership and service, we want to
encourage our current and future students to follow the lead of these
distinguished public servants and to continue this Illinois College tradition,”
said Steuer. “Furthermore, as the College seeks to help its students become
global citizens; it is more than merely symbolic that our new leadership center
will have the name of a highly successful and respected international business
leader who exemplifies our commitment to excellence and justice.” The President
went on to say, “Illinois College is very grateful to Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor for
his generosity, for his recognition of the high quality of the College’s
educational program, and for honoring our distinguished graduate, Paul Findley,
in this special way.”
With this latest gift, Illinois College is nearly a third of the way to its goal
of raising $4 million for the extensive upgrading of Crampton Hall, a building
that for 140 years served as a beloved residence hall for many generations of
Illinois College students.
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