In my three years at university, nothing has beat the experience of going around London during Charity Week, especially during tube and street collections,  and being able to speak to a complete stranger (I come from the North, so I truly appreciate those instances when London’s social norms are broken), just because they are wearing the same t-shirt and shaking a bucket for the same cause as you. The Charity Week Annual Dinner brings all those who meet for a moment on a busy day, together.

You, and that person you met fleetingly at Waterloo station, on Kensington High Street, at Ilford Exchange or wherever, are able to take the time to sit, learn, eat (of course), get to know one another and celebrate what has been achieved through one vision of unity and by the help of Allah SWT, together. At the risk of sounding too Disney, it’s nothing short of being a truly magical evening.

This year’s Annual Dinner was my third and final as an undergraduate, and so I came to the event with mixed feelings of excitement, sadness and nostalgia. And truly the evening proved to be the best possible event, dare I say, ever. Being involved in the organisational stages of an event sometimes takes away from the actual event itself. Naturally, things go wrong: technology decides to forsake you; time decides to magically speed up; or any other form of what would seem to be “epic fail” tends to put a dampener on the event for those involved in the organisation. But Subhan’Allah, this year’s Annual Dinner was probably the smoothest running it has ever been, truly a credit to its organisers. The food: well packaged and more importantly ‘nom nom’ tasty; the decor: tastefully elegant and gave a sophisticated look to the otherwise sterile hall; the hosting: engaging, kept to time and the guests were kept happy Alhamdullilah, so no plan B was necessary and crying in a corner wasn’t even contemplated as a plan C; the speakers: inspirational as always, reiterating the importance of unity within our Ummah.

However these details are logistical parts to an event in which its success lies in the atmosphere of the event itself. In my first year I could sense how special the feelings in the room were, where KCL sisters were hugging UCL sisters with genuine happiness, despite losing a competition they had tried so hard to win; where the competition was not everything as one may imagine it to be. Back then, my competitive side was unable to quite figure out where the feelings stemmed from due to a lack of involvement in Charity Week. This year however, I found that I was no longer an observer to these emotions; rather I was an active participant. My competitive alter ego finally understood that despite it being a competition, the important thing was that I was sat with my sisters, all from different universities, eager to find out how much had been raised by us as a whole, rather than my particular university. Obviously I’d be lying if I were to say I wasn’t curious as to how much had been raised by my university, but it was not the focus of my excitement when it reached the time for the countdown.

During the countdown the atmosphere was as always, electric and the room felt as it was literally quivering with excitement. I must mention here, that despite all my words of how the winning is not the aim of the game, it is a competition and London School of Pharmacy truly and honestly deserve the win. Subhan’Allah for such a small university to raise such a staggering amount is amazing, and the brothers and sisters at LSOP clearly worked tirelessly towards the one cause, and the pay off were those coveted bragging rights and the ability to say that the size of the university doesn’t matter. No longer can larger universities monopolize the top of the scoreboard; UCL, Kings and Imperial in particular better step up their game if they want to continue being at the top of the countdown, there may be a revolution coming along insha’Allah with smaller universities (as well as schools and colleges, who managed to raise a remarkable £18,000 just amongst themselves) managing larger and larger amounts. Oooh the excitement for Charity Week 2011, such possibilities!

Despite all this, the magic of the countdown for me was at the moment where the PowerPoint slide announced to the room that we, as a united country of Muslim students, had managed to raise a staggering £370,000, a massive £46,000 more than last year. Subhan’Allah. Alhamdullilah. Allahu Akbar! The slide was accompanied with jubilant cries, awed repetition of the total and an incredible amount of…hugging. A lot of love was shared in that room at that particular instance, and that love is truly priceless. The thought of how far this amount of money will go to making a difference to those children that truly need it is overwhelming, and the fact that this has been done because we have all come together for this one cause is once again, that Disney magical.

The Annual Dinner highlights the potential that our beautiful Ummah has, where Muslims set aside their differences for an evening to sit together to witness what they have achieved, as they strived together for that one goal of helping Orphans and Needy Children, united upon Islam for one blessed week (well we all know it’s never just one week, but shhhh, that’s even better!) Insha’Allah the aim to unite the Ummah for one cause, to please Allah, through our actions can be achieved and insha’Allah we will all continue in striving for Jannah, together.

In true Charity Week fashion, planning for next year’s Charity Week has already begun, better jump on the bandwagon and make sure you are part of this beautiful (and let’s not forget the Disney magical) movement, it truly makes ones university experience complete, and the friends you make along the way are not just for university, they are for life, as you share that common goal of unity with one another.

To get involved, check out Charity Week roles here: http://www.onecharityweek.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=89 and get in touch!

by Mariam Kadodia