About Us
Healsters.org was founded by Ahmed Rehab in Chicago in the fall of 2021 in response to a spat of bullying episodes against Muslim students across the state. Some of the cases reported to Ahmed and his team at CAIR-Chicago were egregious in nature, including sadly one case of suicide. It became apparent that students, parents, and in many cases, even educators were unaware of how to respond.
Healsters is styled as a community-based initiative - underwritten by CAIR-Chicago - to help provide services and resources to students, parents, teachers, and school administrators to not only better deal with incidents of anti-Muslim bullying, but to prevent them from happening.
Given however that bullying is a pandemic that affects students of every background, Healsters believes that its mission is best served by advocating for all young people regardless of faith, culture, or background.
Healsters suite of solution-oriented initiatives to nix bullying include:
Professional trainings (e.g. cultural awareness training for schools, and bystander intervention training for students and staff).
A toll-free hotline for bullied students who feel lost or isolated
Youth leadership via school clubs that encourage respect and tolerance through creative projects and activities
Self-discipline and defense classes for students of all ages
MISSION
To advocate for a zero-bullying, stress-free, welcoming and nurturing youth culture in educational and sports environments for all kids regardless of appearance, personality, nationality, faith, disability or orientation.
“ Knowing how to nurture self-confidence, self-worth, and preservation of personal dignity are life skills that can be taught. Every child is entitled to this kind of education, as a basic human right..
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— Ahmed Rehab, Healsters Founder
