18 awe-inspiring facts about Charity Week
1. The first Charity Week bucket was actually a shoe box held outside the prayer room of St George’s, University of London.
2. What makes CW special is that we are 100% volunteer-led (no one gets paid!) and we UNITE for a noble cause. All the blessings and the barakah are from the UNITY. We fundraise individually but we collate the money into ONE pot and TOGETHER as a collective, we decide where it should go so that more people benefit.
3. Alhamdulilah, approximately £3 million has been raised for Orphans and Needy Children by Charity Week to date! In fact, during #CW2013, £1 was raised every second!
4. YOU decide where the money YOU raised is spent – we are the only Muslim youth led fundraising initiative that has comprehensive annual reports. Yup that’s right, we take accountability seriously!
5. Charity Week is an international organisation. It began in London, England in 2003 but now reaching across to Canada, Australia and Qatar – #strongertogether!
6. Charity Weekers have had amazing sponsored challenges in the past- from silences, bungee jumping, sky dives to shark dives!
7. We are the biggest Muslim youth led project in the western world!
8. We have funded an astonishing 31 projects so far!
9. Around 70,000 children have benefited through Charity Week- all thanks to the wonderful volunteers who unite to make Charity Week happen!
10. In 2013, an anonymous donor donated £10,000 in cash to Imperial College London.
11. A signed cricket bat by the entire Pakistan cricket team was auctioned for £1100 at dinner at UCL. The bat was then re-donated for an auction for KCL the following day, where it was auctioned for a further £1200 – love unity!
12. 1,000 messages were sent on the Midlands group within one hour in #CW2013 – intense planning? Yes!
13. 120 volunteers make up the regional and national team in 2014 – Are you one of them?
14. We have over 100 institutions taking part across the UK- with scouts groups and communities helping too!
15. It would take approximately 2million CW tshirts to line the route from the furthest southern CW institution in Plymouth to the furthest North in Aberdeen
16. Through Islamic Relief and UNRWA, Charity Week was one of the very few organisations to be able to bring aid into Syria’s Yarmouk refugee camp, Alhamdulillah. May Allah open up more ways for us to help the ummah and our brothers and sisters in humanity.
17. Our youngest volunteer, a 6 year old, raised £40 all by herself. MashaAllah
18. Approximately 2000 people attend CW Round Off events across the UK to find out the amazing totals that being united for a cause brings. In fact, The Charity Week 2013 International Round-Off Dinner (hosted by London) marked our first International Round-Off! One of the biggest Charity Week events to have taken place – celebrating the unity and success of 10 years, Alhamdulillah!
To find out more and get involved, visit the Charity Week Hub!