For Charity Week, the University of Nottingham (UoN) was able to raise over £27,000. Thus, holding the trophy for the most money raised by an institution in the Midlands.
Charity Week is an annual volunteer-led campaign that is held in the last week of October where over 200 institutions from all over the world raise money for orphans and needy children in poverty-stricken and war-torn countries.
Launched in 2003 by a group of students in London, the project quickly spread across the UK and then across the Atlantic to Canada in 2013. Not long after that Qatar, Germany, USA and Australia joined the party.
“Unity is the main vision”
Impact was able to talk to Taimia and Mohammed, two members of the UoN Charity Week team, who provided more insight into what Charity Week exactly is and how they were able to raise so much money.
When did the organising of the event start and who is in charge of the UoN Charity Week?
“It started in the summer (around May 2016), where the Islamic Society opened applications for a whole committee dedicated to organising and planning Charity Week. This year the Charity Week organisers were Mohammed Rahman and Fatima Taha.
“After the handover from the previous committee happens, the new committee start[s] planning almost immediately with the help of Student Union Officers and the Charity Week Midlands Team.
“This year’s auction raised a record-breaking £5800, with £2300 being raised from just a cake!”
“This committee then sets out to get as many inter-societal collaborations as possible for Charity Week. Differences between societies and students including faith and beliefs, race and ethnicity, are all put aside in order to achieve our potential as a united body. Unity is the main vision.
“There were 40 teams participating last year [in the Football Tournament], representing different sports, faith, educational and recreational societies at UoN. Events like Open-Mic night offer an open platform for University of Nottingham students from all backgrounds to showcase their skills and talents.”
How was UoN Charity Week able to raise so much money?
“The money raised comes from online donations (whether it is from the sponsored Mount Snowdon Trek or personal or group challenges) and through events ran on campus [throughout the week].
The schedules events planned by UoN Charity Week
“One thing the University of Nottingham is famous for is its Krispy Kremes; we are most certainly a University of doughnut lovers! Throughout the week we went through 5520 doughnuts. Last year, we decided that selling doughnuts on campus was not enough and ventured out to do hall deliveries; our Dial a Doughnut event even got us nominated for the most Innovative Event in the 2016 Charity Week International Awards!
“This year’s line-up also featured an Open Mic Night, Bake Off, Pamper Party, Football Tournament and Charity Auction and Dinner. This year’s auction raised a record-breaking £5800, with £2300 being raised from just a cake!”
Where will the money be donated to?
“Every year, students vote from a selection of projects that meet real and pressing needs for children and orphans around the world. [These projects are] provided by Islamic Relief. This year, volunteers voted from ten projects which come under four main categories: emergency, healthcare, education and security.”
A cake that was being sold at this year’s auction
In addition to breaking a personal UoN record, the Midlands record was also broken with “the combined total of all the schools, colleges and universities taking part in Charity Week for this year [being] just over £121,000!”
However, the biggest achievement for UoN Charity Week is not the amount of money raised, but the fact that they are able to make a difference: “The money we were able to raise is so much more than just a figure; it’s offering a lifeline to children less privileged than ourselves.”
Sarah Lindgarde
Featured images courtesy of UoN Charity Week and University of Nottingham Islamic Society
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