22-year-old Noora Khalil, founder and president of CharitaBull, represented the student organization while marching in this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in St. Petersburg.
From building character to building homes, CharitaBull is committed to community outreach, service and compassion in St. Petersburg.
Since high school, Noora Khalil, 22, has had a passion for community service. Upon transferring from St. Petersburg College to USF St. Petersburg, Khalil couldn’t find a service club on campus to join. So she made her own.
“I realized we were so close to poverty and a lot of things to work on,” said Khalil. “I said to myself, ‘I have to at least try. If I don’t do it, nobody will.’ So I created my own initiative.”
She founded CharitaBull in Fall 2014. The student-run club has organized food drives and coordinated events with Habitat for Humanity, Power of Change, and other prominent programs, all while spreading the importance of helping people every day.
Determined, she set out to establish a student organization that would unite Bulls and connect them to charitable work in the area.
Khalil had many goals in forming the group, but her message was simple: Know where you come from and give back to your community.
“I think traveling across the globe and being able to understand how truly grateful I am to have the opportunities I am given, planted that seed,” she said. It makes you reevaluate how little material things matter.”
However, the club went on a short hiatus this semester. Just two months ago, Khalil’s father suddenly passed away.
“My father died on a Saturday and I went back to school that Monday. Clearly I wasn’t my normal self, but I was there. I knew if I took a semester off I wouldn’t have gone back.”
While her academic adviser recommended taking a break, Khalil decided to return to school for a special reason.
“One thing my father really wanted to see me do was get my bachelor’s,” she said. “And even though CharitaBull has been on the backburner, I just feel like giving back is so important – in my heart, in his name – and in his honor, if you will. Even if I can just plan one event, I can at least say I tried.”
Khalil was quick to bring CharitaBull back and booked two days with Habitat for Humanity – Nov. 19 and 20 – where students will aid in the building and restoration of historic St. Petersburg homes. Planning any Habitat for Humanity project is a big undertaking, but this one in particular took an exceptional amount of devotion.
Khalil admitted “it’s been a process” to run a student organization and plan events, especially considering her recent tragic loss. However, through the love and support of her family and friends, and in honor of her late father, she continues to embody persistence and strength, hoping to “make something out of CharitaBull.”
Although Khalil doesn’t like to call herself the “president” of CharitaBull, she arranges most of the organization’s activities. She said she is currently trying to build a team and is happy to meet people with “that spark” of passion for helping others.
“A lot of being a professional is having a sense of character, no matter what you plan on doing after school. And it’s really touching to see people just care about people.”
Cat Kouretsos, 23, joined the club last fall at a time, she said, when she hoped to gain and experience humility, compassion and selflessness.
“I feel like so many of us in college are so focused on networking and seeing what we can gain from other people,” said Kouretsos. “It’s refreshing to be in a club that allows you to meet people and (get) no reward at all out of it, except for that person’s friendship.”
Khalil said she believes “If God blesses you, you don’t raise your standard of living; you raise your standard of giving.”
