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Project - Rest, Relax, and Respect

Muhammed Akil is an organizational administrator who serves as executive director of the Parent Coalition for Excellent Education in Newark, New Jersey. Muhammed Akil also founded the New Jersey youth charity More Than a Race. An organization established to provide inner city youth with outdoor educational activities in a traditional camping environment, More Than A Race collaborated with multiple youth organizations and community members to create Project: Rest, Relax & Respect, an initiative that uses nature to combat the prevalence of dysfunctional family dynamics and violence in the inner city. Project: Rest, Relax & Respect begins by recognizing that many young people in inner cities rarely journey outside of their neighborhoods. Driven by the belief that exposure to the larger world is a key element of engendering personal empowerment and growth, the project brings young males out of the stressful urban setting and into a natural environment of trees and lakes. Emphasi
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South Africa’s Comrades Marathon

Muhammed Akil serves as the executive director of PC2E, the Parent Coalition For Excellent Education in Newark, New Jersey. In his spare time, Muhammed Akil is a marathon runner and has participated in South Africa’s Comrades Marathon. Founded in 1921 to honor South African soldiers who had lost their lives in World War One, the Comrades is the oldest ultramarathon in the world. This 56-mile race is almost twice the distance of a conventional marathon, and those who complete it under the 12-hour limit proclaim it to be a life-altering experience. It is both a point-to-point and gun-to-gun race. Point to point means that the beginning and finishing locations are different, and gun to gun means that after the starting gun, everyone has only 12 hours to finish. While the starting and finishing points change each year, the June 2017 race will be an "up run," commencing at the City Hall in Durban and terminating at The Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg. The race

2017 Gardening Trends Feature Natural Materials and Smart Technology

A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Muhammed Akil works as executive director of the Parent Coalition for Excellent Education located in Newark, New Jersey. When not in the office, Muhammed Akil enjoys spending time working in his garden. Gardening continues to evolve, allowing gardeners to tend to their plants throughout most of the year, whether these plants provide food or merely decoration. According to Garden Trend magazine, there are several current trends expected to continue in the gardening world in 2017, including the following:  * Increasing usage of natural materials. The use of natural materials is making a resurgence after years of minimalist design focused on a clean and modern feel. Designers are finding that clients are desiring more old-fashioned and authentic looks for their spaces.  * Planting dwarf shrubs . Since American yards tend to shrink as house sizes increase, homeowners have less space for plants. Families also want gardens that have little da

Parent Coalition for Excellent Education - Advocating for Education

  A graduate of Northwestern University, Muhammed Akil pursued communications studies and received a university fellowship PhD. Muhammed Akil leverages his training to serve as executive director of the Parent Coalition for Excellent Education. Located in Newark, New Jersey, the Parent Coalition for Excellent Education (PC2E) exists to the strengthen the voice of parents and advocates for New Jersey’s education policies in order to meet the educational needs of every community in the state. PC2E organizes parents and advocates to make a difference at the neighborhood level, in addition to hosting events and engaging in door-to-door outreach to inform parents of the many benefits of state schools, including charter and public schools. PC2E has contributed to transforming New Jersey’s education debate from one that was tense and polemical to one that is collaborative and constructive. Parents now feel they can voice their opinions, and school board meetings have become mo

Early Spring Tasks for Gardeners

Muhammed Akil leads as executive director of the Parent Coalition for Excellent Education in Newark, New Jersey. In his free time, Muhammed Akil enjoys working in his garden. Although early spring may not be the height of gardening season , there are plenty of tasks to get the gardener out into the warming air. One of the most crucial tasks for this time of year is post-winter cleanup, as weather can cause debris to gather in the garden. Early spring is also an ideal time to repair any damage to beds, fencing, or trellises. With little existing growth, a gardener can more easily get to the sides and posts of beds. Dealing with fence posts, however, should wait until warm weather softens the soil. The bare ground in early spring also makes it easier to fill in mulch where it has become bare. Experts recommend approximately 3 to 4 inches of mulch, which helps to keep weeds at bay. Gardeners should make a concerted effort to pull any weeds that do emerge in early spring, as this will