Family and friends keeping Asra Hussain's legacy alive

INDIANAPOLIS - Thousands of planes fly across the United States every day safely. But in the evening hours of January 29th, a U.S. Army black hawk helicopter collided with American Airlines flight 5342 as it descended to land at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.




All 67 people on board both aircrafts died, including Carmel native Asra Hussain. Thursday marks five months since the crash.




The family and friends of those lost are still dealing with this tragedy and finding ways to honor their loved ones.




Lilly Donahue, Victoria Lincourt, Emily Tyner and Allison Schoenfeld had the same reaction as millions of people when they saw the video showing the horrific crash.




"I had seen it on social media," said Donahue. "Thought it was, you know, tragic, and saw the video, and kind of was like, well, that's awful."




"I remember thinking at the time, just, oh my God, what a loss," said Lincourt.




Until they realized their friend was on board. Donahue was the first to find out and told the friend group the news.




"I just remember being very shocked, especially for like, a day or two," said Donahue.




"I'm really grateful that Lilly reached out to us because I would not have wanted to find out a different way," said Lincourt. "It really hit me pretty hard in the moment."




"It was hard to process," said Tyner. "It was not something that I thought would ever really happen."




"It hit me like a ton of bricks," said Schoenfeld, who wasn't able to participate in the interview call but answered questions for this story over email.

The group all met through the Indiana University Washington Leadership program in 2019. They were put together as random roommates.




They each had very fond memories of their time with Asra, whether it was sharing more quiet moments:




"I remember sitting up on the roof of our building one night, talking about the future," said Schoenfeld. "How one day, we'd find a partner and a job and city that were perfect for us, and how at least we had each other to relate to and navigate this moment in our careers in our lives."




Or taking a marathon day trip to New York City.




"Asra was kind of like the New York City pro so she led us everywhere, and by the end, we were all exhausted and complaining," remembered Donahue with a laugh.




Another funny memory came from when Asra had broken her arm.




"I remember her like in the midst of all the blooming cherry blossoms and the crowds that were there for the cherry blossoms, she took the sling off and she like beat it against a cherry tree in this like demonstration of, I'm finally done with this," remembered Lincourt.




Or for the low-key moments at their apartment that helped bring them all together.




"She would make us dinner," remembered Tyner. "We did Galentine's Day while we were there, we would watch 'The Bachelor' and guess who was going home that week. We weren't strangers by the end of (our program)."




But above all, they all felt the strong sense of values Asra held. Those values are what inspired how they wanted to remember her legacy.




They decided to create "Bundled Up, Burden Free." The goal is for people to donate coats to their local thrift stores or charitable collections in Asra's honor and to donate money to help relieve medical debt. With such an interesting combination of specific goals, we had to ask what led to the convergence of these two initiatives.




"Asra had made a comment about how much she loved coats and she had a great collection of coats for all the different weather we had," explained Donahue. "It was just kind of like a quirky little thing. And medical equality and reducing the issues in the American healthcare system was at the forefront of her professional career."




"People might be struggling with either one of those things," said Lincourt. "The basic necessities, keeping yourself healthy, keeping yourself warm, but Asra was somebody with a lot of empathy."








The group reached out to Hussain family for their blessing, which they got. The Hussain family sent FOX59/CBS4 a statement for this story. 

We appreciate Lilly, Victoria, Emily and Allison for organizing the Bundled Up, Burden Free campaign to honor Asra's legacy. The campaign consists of a fundraiser to reduce the burden of medical debt for those in need and a coat drive to bring warmth to the most vulnerable.




Asra was a beautiful source of joy and light for everyone in her life. She brought people together everywhere she went and was a pivotal member of her community. Asra was guided by her faith as a Muslim to be warm, thoughtful, kind and generous to all who were lucky enough to meet her. Her generosity and love of a stylish coat are what inspired the coat drive.




Asra had aspirations of becoming a healthcare leader who prioritizes patient care by creating an equitable system for all. She wanted healthcare systems to prioritize communities and patient care above all else. Raising funds to alleviate the burden of medical debt from recovering patients and families serves as a tribute to Asra's professional goals.




As her family, we will miss her presence for the rest of our lives. She inspired us to strive for impact. There will never be anyone quite like Asra, but we hope to continue honoring her legacy through charitable acts that improve the lives of others.

The Hussain Family

The group launched Bundled Up, Burden Free at the end of April on Instagram. So far they have raised $8,000 and people in more than 10 cities have donated coats in Asra's honor.




"It's been really encouraging and heartwarming to see the response," said Lincourt.




The group has a message to people: take that time and effort to spend time with the people you love.




"The last thing she said to me was like, Oh, if you're in D.C., you should visit," said Tyner. "And, I mean you kind of hope that you keep in touch. And it's like, Oh, you never made it to D.C., and now it's not possible."




"My first thought was regret that I hadn't kept in better touch since graduating college," said Schoenfeld. "It really put into perspective for me just how important it is to tell the people we love (that) we love them as often as we can."








They say their initiative shows the impact Asra had on so many people.




"From Indiana to D.C. to New York, and even wider than that," said Donahue. "So I'm proud that this is her legacy, and it's because of the life that she lived that this is successful.




The Hussain family also has a fundraising page to honor Asra that has raised more than $243,000. 




The fundraising page says the goal is to honor Sadaqah Jariyah in the Islamic faith, which means charity that continues to benefit others, even after death.




The page says donations made will support education for underprivileged children, providing food and aid to those in need and supporting local and global relief efforts.




Click here for the Hussain family's fundraising page.





via: https://fox59.com/indiana-news/family-and-friends-keeping-asra-hussains-legacy-alive/