We all know that giving to charity is a noble trait many millions of people make donations to charities year on year for causes that they can relate to or feel passionate about. However once your money goes to the charity do you get any feedback on what your money has actually achieved yes you get a general picture of what that charity has done but has that money really been allocated to that cause you donated for? How do you know?
You may be thinking about what this question and a group of friends has to do with giving money to charity. The Raise for life group was born from a vision of making a difference and being accountable.
Every so often we used meet up to socialise and catch up on things going on our lives. On one particular occasion we were due to meet up, some of the brothers suggested that we attend at a talk held at Birmingham Central Mosque. As part of that talk we came across a charity called Ummah Welfare Trust. They were looking to raise money for the Pakistan Flood appeal and specifically looking to build houses for people who no longer had homes to go to.
There are a number of factors that made us as a group decide to commit to building a house that evening. One was to make a difference, yes we were concerned if we were ever going to be able to raise that money, but the talk has inspired us to rely on Allah SWT and if he willed we would be successful.
Two we had always felt as a group that we got together and felt a need to make a difference in the world for the sake of Allah SWT. Yes we enjoyed having fun and catching up but we also enjoyed praying together and encouraging each other to do good, this opportunity would give us the chance to build a stronger relationship with Allah SWT and us as a group.
Three, Ummah Welfare Trust has a 100% donation policy this meant that all the money we raised would be going to the cause. No middlemen no cut for anyone all the donation making 100% difference!
There was a great deal of apprehension in the group after we committed to raising this money. What have we let ourselves in for; would we ever be able to raise the money? Could we live with the feeling of not being able to deliver?
Alhamdulillah we did not have to worry at all. It was amazing how week after week each of us was able to contribute to the fund from friends, family and contacts to eventually we had reached the target set. Looking back on this it is ama
From the experience of this high we did not want to let go. We felt that Allah SWT gave us this opportunity to make a difference and we should continue with it.
From this point on we realised that to continue with this work we had to formalise what we as a group were about. So Raise for Life was born with the strapline Donate, Fundraise, Participate. A group of friends from various parts of the UK with one aim – raise money and awareness for those in need around the world. We also made a pledge to ensure that we did not take any money for profit, running costs, distribution costs, marketing, events, travel, etc. We would work on our own costs and if necessary, those provided by the charity we are working with.
Since then we have not looked back. In the short period that we have worked together Allah SWT has blessed us the success of raising over £400,000 for numerous causes including Syria, Burma, Somalia, Birmingham Homeless Project with As Suffa Institute, Feed our World Project with Penny Appeal, Palestine water filtration project with Interpal as well as helping with causes more closer to home in both terms of funding and volunteering.
Its amazing the amount of success that Allah SWT has given us and what a difference a group of friends has been able to make. We hope that Allah SWT continues to shower us with his blessings and gives us the opportunity to help many more noble causes. Ameen
– Taukir Shah (RfL)
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