Islamic Society Charity Week success

For the first time, this year’s Charity Week hit and smashed through the £1,000,000 ceiling, as students from around the globe managed to collectively raise a total of £1,057,220.12 in donations.

The initiative which traditionally takes place over the final week of October sees students in London and beyond take to their campus corridors, common rooms, and quite often, the streets, to sell baked goods for charity, among many other fundraising activities. Since it first started in 2000, Charity Week (or CW as we’re informed the kids call it nowadays) has turned into an international student lead fundraising campaign which raises money for orphans and children in need around the world. At Imperial, the effort raised over £47,000 this year, with one of the highlights including the construction of a massive cake which was auctioned off for over £4,000

Proceeds go towards four distinct projects: medication and medical equipment and training in Syria, healthcare and higher education for children in poverty in Bangladesh, training and equipment for the unemployed and unskilled youth of Gaza, and healthcare, education and fostering initiatives for the refugee children in Jordan and Europe.

In a statement from Imperial’s Charity Week group, Adeela Ashraf said: “The campaign’s main ethos is unity; it centres around coming together and working together to welcome others into the community and to raise as much as possible for the suffering children around the world. And this ethos was noticeable all throughout Charity Week, from the electric atmosphere at the annual dinner, to the amazing teamwork between the volunteers running the stalls.“ Fundraising activities included the annual Dinner and Auction held at Porchester Hall, the sell-out fashion and pampering event, Smoky Not Smudgy, as well as sponsored silences, head shaves, Snowdon treks and fun-runs.

“Everyone comes together for one cause,” says Islam Farzana, vice president of Islamic Society. “Whilst running, organising and even communicating with people can be extremely stressful and tiring at times, when you realise how much money was raised, everything becomes worth it and you’d do it all again in a heartbeat. “