DELIGHTED: Sam Naaz, InTouch Foundation volunteer manager and Bradford site co-ordinator, said it had been a ‘pleasure’ to work with the three schools
DELIGHTED: Sam Naaz, InTouch Foundation volunteer manager and Bradford site co-ordinator, said it had been a ‘pleasure’ to work with the three schools

Hundreds raised for mobile soup kitchen

As schools broke up for the summer holidays last week, many children were looking forward to six weeks of relaxing before the start of their next academic year.

However, before the holidays could start, there was one last task for the students to complete as they handed over their hard earned sponsorship money to local charities of choice.

Three schools across Bradford welcomed the InTouch Foundation to their assemblies last week to officially present them with their donations.

Carlton Bolling College, the University Academy Keighley (UAK) and the Al-Haadiyah Islamic School had been hosting their own in-school fundraisers in aid of the charity and were able to raise over £500 in total.

The funds will go towards supporting the mobile soup kitchen which runs in Bradford, Keighley and Leeds every week.

Sam Naaz, volunteer manager and Bradford site co-ordinator, explained how important it was to connect with the whole community.

“It has been an utmost pleasure to work with a variety of young people for one cause, to help those within our community,” she said.

“As the volunteer manager at InTouch, I am proud to now have ex-students from across UAK and Carlton Bolling continuing to help us with our cause even after leaving school.

SUPPORT: Students from the UAK collected food for the charity drive as well as raising over £200
SUPPORT: Students from the UAK collected food for the charity drive as well as raising over £200

“This helps us to continue to make a positive impact within our community and unite together, building positive relationships and helping to develop the youth into responsible citizens.”

At Carlton Bolling, the quartet of charity ambassadors: Sabrina Begum, Tiyba Sajad, Sanah Shabir and Ayesha Begum, headed the fundraising drive, bringing in around £270.

Like many of the other schools, the money was raised through projects during Ramadan – a time of giving for Muslims around the world.

Mr Hanif Khan, community and partnerships manager at the school, said: “As a school we encourage our young people to develop into responsible citizens.

“We are proud of our students for their humanitarian efforts by assisting the local and wider communities. Our student ‘Charity Ambassadors’ have continued to assist a diverse range of charities whilst gaining valuable experiences.

“This year, the students were keen to make a positive difference by supporting the excellent work of the InTouch Foundation who they feel are carrying out a much needed role within our communities.”

The Al-Haadiyah Islamic School also used Ramadan as a catalyst for their fundraising, hosting events as diverse as car washes during the four weeks.

Every class surpassed their targets to donate hundreds of pounds, with four to 13-year-olds getting involved in the projects.

Meanwhile, at the UAK, students raised over £200 and collected items of food, as Miss Kazi explained.

“The project had a slow start…however, as the end of the year neared, the students started to realise that they were running out of time and managed to raise over £200 by the deadline,” she said.

“Students learnt lots of key skills such as team working, time keeping, organisation and persuasion.

“They discovered some shocking statistics about the number of children in Keighley and Bradford that live in poverty – some of which go to bed hungry on most nights.

“They found the extra efforts they had to make were worthwhile.”