The Charity Week for Orphans and Needy Children, an annual volunteer-led event that partners with the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) to raise money for people in need, was held this past week from Oct. 21 to 26. Fordham University’s Muslim Students Association (MSA) is one of many groups participating in Charity Week. Fordham’s Rose Hill MSA has been participating in the event since 2020.
“Colleges from Fordham to St. John’s [University] to NYU [New York University] are participating to see who can raise the most money,” said Mehak Imran, GSB ’27, MSA’s events coordinator. “Then all that money is donated to charitable causes affecting Muslim relief and Islamic relief all over the world.”
Since 2003, Charity Week has raised over 17,537,165 pounds to aid people in need. The organization provides interested parties with information on what events to do, how to go about doing them and how to publicize them. MSA was provided with a Charity Week ambassador who helped them plan for the week.
“We had a meeting with [our ambassador] to discuss what events we had to do and then they [the ICNA] approved it,” said Imran. “And then we got it approved through Fordham and then we set it up.”
Fordham MSA hosted a variety of events during the week, with the largest one being their Charity Gala, which was on Oct. 24 in the McShane Campus Center’s Great Hall. This year, the gala was a collaboration between MSA, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, Fordham University South Asian Entity, Fordham Arabic club, Fordham’s Middle East and North Africa club and the Fordham Bengali Student Association. The gala had an entrance fee of $5 and had a mini-auction, with all proceeds going to charity.
“The events were amazing, and the people were so dedicated, I was amazed by the sense of community and the dedication everyone showed in coming together to raise money for such a great cause,” said Sumaiya Lina, FCRH ’28, a member of MSA. “It was really nice to see everyone come together, have a great time and truly make a difference. I couldn’t be more thankful to be part of it.”
Throughout the week, MSA also hosted a bake sale, a raffle and a hijab and henna event, where students could browse hijabs and get henna done. They also hosted their annual auction on Oct. 26, which raised $13,000 last year.
“This event reminded me of all the things I could do as a student here at Fordham to help Muslims in need on a global scale,” said Ihsaan Alam, FCRH ’28, an MSA first-year liaison. “Whether it was donating money, serving food or even offering prayer, I felt aligned with my iman in that I was doing what I could during such an important time as Charity Week.”
“It’s a really good tradition,” said Imran. “It’s really rewarding and fulfilling and definitely solidifies my role on campus as part of the MSA… It’s definitely one of the best times to be [in the MSA] community.”
