5 Amazing Stories from Charity Week 2012

Charity Week 2012 is over now. The last cake has been baked and sold. The last poster taken down. The last penny counted. At the end of each Charity Week we reflect upon the events of the past year so that we may build upon our strengths and identify our weaknesses. The resulting document is the Charity Week Annual Report – one of the most comprehensive and detailed analyses of the workings of an Islamic youth project anywhere in the world.

Each year there are some surprises thrown up. One of the many benefits of having an Annual Report is that it allows us to share these amazing stories with each other and the wider public. Here are just 5 of them:

5. Fist-bump world record

Each year, volunteers try and come up with weird and interesting ways to get more publicity for the project. This year Liverpool University Islamic Society decided that they would get the world record for the longest continuous chain of fist-bumps. 145 pairs of fist bumps later – and they found themselves in the record books.

4. 87 years of experience

There was a mix of experienced hands and fresh faces in the Charity Week 2012 team – something all healthy teams need to help improve. There was a cumulative 87 years of experience between the national team alone – an average of nearly 3.5 years each. This is quite a feat in Islamic work which is (unfortunately) known for high turnover and burnout rate of volunteers.

3. The most expensive Islamic CD ever?

Every year there are auctions where canvas prints of Islamic calligraphy or other such items get sold to raise money. Sometimes, they just sell whatever is at hand. This year, a CD of Islamic talks – all freely available online – was sold for a staggering £2,535 (close to $4000.) Truly someone who appreciates the value of knowledge!

2. Donation from a homeless man

Charity Week volunteers are renowned for being able to talk anyone into putting something into the bucket for the sake of orphans and needy children. But even they were shocked when a homeless man took out the little spare change in his pocket and donated it for those “less fortunate than himself.” SubhanAllah… it left many of us speechless.

1. Raising £448,401.36 (approx $668,000)

Whilst we always say that Charity Week is emphatically NOT about the money, itis worthwhile looking at that figure again. This is hard evidence if ever any were needed that if we Muslims work together and unite upon Islam – Allah will pour barakah in our efforts. By working together, by going beyond the divisions that normally keep us apart, by reaching out to the disenfranchised majority of Muslim youth, by tapping the potential of a united Muslim Ummah – we can achieve the seemingly impossible. Millions of those suffering around the world are hoping you agree.

To read the full Charity Week Annual Report 2012 click here:

http://www.onecharityweek.com/files/cw-annual-report-2012.pdf

To get involved and bring Charity Week to your school/ college/ city:

info@onecharityweek.com