One
Day National Fast 2003 Article in Ripple (Students'
Union) Newspaper |
Lose
weight AND raise money for charity all in one day
Students at the University of
Leicester’s Islamic Society are working in conjunction with other societies
and universities nationally, to raise money for many charities including Human
Appeal International. A national
one day fast is taking place on Thursday 6th November 2003, of which
all money raised would go towards helping provide clean water and sanitation,
health care, employment opportunities and helping other charitable causes.
Fasting to Remember was
initiated last year, by the Islamic society of Britain as part of their annual
Islam Awareness Week. Tony Blair
and HRH Prince Charles are two great advocates of this cause.
The initiative called upon the British non-Muslim community to take part
in a one day fast in Ramadan, alongside their fellow Muslims to raise money for
those in need. The Federation of
Students’ Islamic Societies (FOSIS) joined in Fasting to Remember by calling
on university Islamic Societies to get non-Muslim students from a variety of
ethnic and religious backgrounds to take part in the fast and attend a charity
iftar (the meal provided for breaking the fast).
In total 16 universities participated, Leicester University being one,
and a total in the region of £6,000 was raised for the nationally nominated
charities The Prince’s Trust and Target 2015.
Due to the success of the event, Fasting to Remember will become an
annual event.
For this year’s Fasting to
Remember, FOSIS has decided to team up with Human Appeal International and
initiate the one day fast across UK universities and raise money for charity.
It has been decided that 30% of the money raised will go towards the
Prince’s Trust and Target 2015, while the majority of the fundraising (70%)
will go to Human Appeal International for their Orphan Sponsorship project.
All students and staff
members are invited to join in the national one day fast and remember people who
are less fortunate. People of many
different faiths and backgrounds will be taking part to show that diverse
communities can get together in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and for a
good cause. Anybody who is willing
and able can join in the fast, and can do so for as long or as short as they
like. Muslims fast from dawn to
sunset, and on November 6th that’s approximately 5.30am to 4.30pm.
Everyone who participates may attend the charity iftar on the day to
break the fast. The meal would be absolutely free, although donations are
welcome. All that is required is to
get sponsorship from people for participating in the event.
For everyone who is
interested in participating and/or want further information please feel free to
contact
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