Island groups donate to Neighbors Foundation

Story and photos by Alice Gerard

Senior Contributing Writer

The Neighbors Foundation of Grand Island received two donations on March 3 at the Grand Island Cultural Center, 2100 Baseline Road. The Service and Mercy Alliance, a mosque located at 1822 Huth Road, presented the Neighbors Foundation with a $1,000 donation, while BelleIsle Entertainment and the Parish Players offered a $500 donation.

Faisal Tahiri, Dr. Semira Khawar and April Arman present a $1,000 donation to the Neighbors Foundation and its president, Dave Conboy, who is standing with a group of foundation volunteers.

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Service and Mercy Alliance

According to April Arman, a member of the mosque, “Muslims are currently celebrating the month of Ramadan. This time is particularly important for us, as this is a month of fasting. Fasting reminds us of what it is like to not have food and of how blessed we truly are in our daily lives. In addition, during this month, Muslims are required to donate a certain percentage of their discretionary income, which is then distributed to those in need. With this in mind, we wanted to donate to the Neighbors Foundation. With the help of a generous donor who matched the $500 raised dollar-for-dollar, we are thrilled to gift $1,000 to the Neighbors Foundation for use within our local Grand Island community.”

Ramadan started on the evening of Feb. 17, and it will end March 19. The celebration of the breaking of the fast, Eid al-Fitr, will be held March 20.

Donating to the Neighbors Foundation fit in well with the Service and Mercy Alliance’s mission, Arman explained: “As our name suggests, our mission is to be of service to the community. One of our original goals was to open a pantry since there is a commercial kitchen within the building. However, we hope to collaborate with the Neighbors Foundation of Grand Island, since they are already working with families in need. With the current economic climate, some families are struggling to make ends meet, and so we felt strongly that we wanted to support the local pantry.”

The Service & Mercy Alliance is a new congregation on the Island. Arman explained the history of Muslims on Grand Island and how the mosque came to be.

“One of the oldest families that has lived on Grand Island moved here in 1989 and many families, including myself, have lived here for at least 30 years. The community is a very diverse one, consisting of people from many different ethnicities. This includes, but is not limited to, members who, while they are American citizens, come from or have family from Turkey, Pakistan, Palestine, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. We currently have a substantial community of families that have been on the Island for four generations.

“Due to the growing number of families, we decided that it was time to find a formal place for families to be able to come and worship together, rather than having go off the Island in order to pray in congregation. Our community prays five times daily and congregational prayers are on Fridays, so having a mosque not only saves time but has provided the opportunity for families to come together in support and fellowship.

“Our organization, Service and Mercy Alliance, has found a home at Island Presbyterian Church. We had shared the space with their members for the past three years, and when they began considering the option of selling the building, we offered to purchase the space. While many of the congregation had attended Island Presbyterian Church since childhood, and the transition must have been challenging, the leadership expressed that they were happy that the space would be used by another faith community.”

“We are so proud to call the Island our home and look forward to many more years of serving this wonderful community together,” Arman said.

Gerard and Bonnie Cahill present a $500 donation on behalf of BelleIsleEntertainment and the parish players to Neighbors Foundation President Dave Conboy, who is standing with a group of foundation volunteers.

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BelleIsleEntertainment & Parish Players

 A check was given to the Neighbors Foundation “out of the proceeds from ‘Joseph and Mary,’ the play we did in December 2025,” said Gerard Cahill, author and one of the executive producers of the play.

Cahill said the entire proceeds of the play were split between the Neighbors Foundation and the Knights of Columbus, “to help with the renovations to the old St. Stephen Church and to create the new Grand Island Cultural Center as a performance venue.”

“BelleIsle Entertainment is a Grand Island nonprofit organization, and we are pledged to use the profits we make to support charitable organizations in need of financial help for the good of our city,” Cahill explained. “Our task is to produce entertainment that people can enjoy at a relatively inexpensive cost and then grant those funds to help others, however we can.”

He said the donation came from Karen Conboy, the executive producer and director of the show, as well as Bonnie Cahill, also an executive producer of the show” and vice president of BelleIsle Entertainment.

“Personally, I always enjoy it when one of our projects is successful, and we can help people who are in need of a little boost,” Cahill said. “People helping other people is always a worthy calling. That's what the Neighbors Foundation is all about, as is the Knights of Columbus. We can all be proud of their accomplishments. And we are always proud to help them.”

Neighbors Foundation

“Donations like these are essential and directly support our ability to provide confidential food assistance to Grand Island residents facing food insecurity,” said Dave Conboy, president of the Neighbors Foundation. “They allow us to purchase food and grocery gift cards that we provide to neighbors to help them through difficult times. Because we rely entirely on donations, community support is essential to sustaining our work throughout the year. More broadly, these gifts reinforce what the Neighbors Foundation is all about: people from across the community, and from many different backgrounds and faith traditions, coming together with a shared purpose. That spirit of cooperation allows us to live out our mission of neighbors helping neighbors.”

Conboy described the response of the Neighbors Foundation to the donations. “We were profoundly grateful. The Neighbors Foundation is an all-volunteer organization, so the generosity of community partners like BelleIsle Entertainment, working together with the Parish Players in presenting ‘Joseph and Mary,’ means a great deal to us. Their support beautifully reflected the spirit of Christmas and the importance of caring for neighbors in need.

“Likewise, the donation from our Muslim brothers and sisters at the Service and Mercy Alliance, was especially meaningful as it came during the holy month of Ramadan, a time centered on charity and service to others. Seeing people from different faiths and organizations selflessly come together in support of our mission is very inspiring.”