York's Umar Momen is new outstanding youth philantropist for the Central Coast

York graduate Umar Momen was named Outstanding Youth Philanthropist for the Central Coast after raising over $15,000 to alleviate poverty in Bangladesh.

It's the eight time in the last 12 years that a student from York garners the honor, school officials said in a statement.

Umar, now a freshman at UC Berkeley, was honored at the 24th annual National Philanthropy Day of the Central Coast on November 20 at The Inn at Spanish Bay. The award is presented by the Associaiton of Fundraising Professionals.

As a child, Umar visited Bangladesh, his parents’ homeland, and was shocked by the poverty he saw, and those images stayed with him. When he reached high school he researched solutions and discovered the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee —BRAC – the country’s largest nonprofit development organization.

As a sophomore at York School in 2012, he volunteered at two schools that served impoverished children in Dhaka, Bangladesh. When he returned to the United States he launched a fundraising campaign for BRAC with the goal of providing education that would serve up to 130 children – a financial goal of $5,000. Within two months, by talking with family, friends, friends of friends, and strangers, he inspired a reaction of giving and reached his goal.

Umar returned to Bangladesh to volunteer with BRAC in 2014. He learned about Kishori clubs, which serve girls ages 11-19 living in the slums of Bangladesh, who are often neglected, abused, or sold as child brides. Kishori clubs provide health, life-skills, leadership, and professional training education. Umar again undertook a crowd funding campaign when he returned to the U.S. and raised $10,241, enough to train 222 facilitators for the Kishori clubs.

During his four years at York, Umar volunteered over 1,000 hours at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. He's now working with BRAC to start a Youth Action Network in Berkeley for BRAC’s work in Bangladesh.