The goal is simple: to serve the Creator by serving His creation.

MAS Youth Give (MYG) is a project of the Bay Area chapter of the Muslim American Society (MAS) and its youth division, MAS Youth. It began in March, 2001 and has since grown in scope and spread to other MAS chapters around the country.

Amongst the goals of MAS is to present Islam in its true form - balanced and comprehensive. A major component of the message of Islam is social service. In the Qur'an, Allah (swt) describes the Muslims as a group that is proactive in calling for good.

As Muslims in America, we are often concerned - and rightfully so - about the plight of Muslims and others around the world. But we are sometimes unaware of the suffering and need that is occurring right under our noses in our own communities. Muslims are also called upon often to explain their faith in light of worldwide political events. We explain that Islam is a peaceful religion, a religion of mercy and compassion and service. Yet, words are not enough. Our actions as Muslim Americans must reflect the message we want to convey.

MYG's mission is clear: to instill the Islamic spirit of social responsibility in young Americans and demonstrate the message of Islam through proactive service.

To accomplish this mission, MYG coordinates monthly volunteer activities in cooperation with various Bay Area social service and charity organizations. In the past, MYG has worked with Second Harvest Food Bank, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen, Project Open Hand, City Trees, Glide Community Center, the Boys and Girls Club and others.

The events MYG coordinates are diverse enough to accommodate a diversity of ages and interests. Some events are wonderful for families with young children, such as gardening and park clean-up events. Others allow only for older youth, such as home building with Habitat for Humanity. Some events deal with homelessness and hunger. Others involve the environment.