The loud sounds of chatter filled Krentzman Quad on Thursday, Oct. 23, as students gathered around tables selling Dubai chocolate or competed in a basketball shooting competition, all to raise funds for causes beyond Northeastern’s campus.
“Our main goal is to raise money for those in need across the world. It’s International Charity Week for all MSAs [Muslim Student Associations] at all universities,” said Zachary Preiss, co-president of the Islamic Society of Northeastern University (ISNU). “We’re raising money, about a one-third split for Gaza, for Sudan and for Bangladesh.”
Every year, ISNU participates in Charity Week, a volunteer-led campaign by Islamic Relief that encourages university groups across the world to donate to specific causes. This campaign allows Northeastern’s community to join a global network of organizations that connect on a deeper level to make an impact on an international scale.
“Our personal goal as an MSA is to keep our title as the highest-raising club in Boston,” Preiss said. “But inshallah, we just raise some good money for the broader community.”
The mission is to not only raise money but also to promote unity because, according to Islamic Relief, as a society, people are “stronger together rather than apart.” The initiative is fueled by “a vision that our situation would not change unless we change ourselves.”
The Charity Week campaign began with an initial trial run at the University of London in 2000 and has since expanded to universities across the world: Canada in 2013, Qatar in 2014, Germany and the U.S. in 2015, South Africa in 2018, Ireland in 2020, Malaysia in 2021 and Pakistan in 2023. The campaign encourages all members of the community, both Muslim and non-Muslim, to work in unity to create lasting solutions to the suffering of children worldwide. With ISNU contributing to the campaign, Northeastern students can join that global network and support the same cause.Â
“We decided to plan Charity Week a couple of months before; we do it every year,” ISNU treasurer Noora Hameeduddin said. “We have an event for every day of the week, and then we also do week-long events. On Monday, we had “Pie the E-board”; Tuesday and Wednesday, we sold Dubai chocolate and henna in Curry Student Center. Then, on Thursday, we have the Charity Week fair, where different organizations come and donate different items related to their organization. People buy things at those tables, and then the proceeds go to charity. Friday, we hold a game night, and then throughout the whole week, we’ve also been doing e-board dares as well as ISNU Assassins [a social game], which have brought the community together and raised a lot of money.”
Despite the full schedule, both ISNU members and nonmembers agreed that the Charity Week fair was the most impactful event of the week. The fair featured the sale of Dubai Chocolate, henna, plants, cookies, homemade samosas and chai. Students could also take part in basketball challenges, prize games, spikeball, volleyball, bracelet and tasbeeh making, pumpkin painting and canvas and tote bag painting.Â
ISNU collaborated with other campus organizations to host the fundraiser, including the Pakistani Student Association at Northeastern (PakSA), the Northeastern University Somali Student Association (NEUSSA), the Black Islamic Association at Northeastern (BIA) and Northeastern University Students for Justice in Palestine (NUSJP).
“I think it’s important for other people who aren’t as involved in clubs to see us all connected here in Krentzman. We have a lot of tables, alhamdulillah, so everybody who walks by here can see us and the effort that we’re putting in for Charity Week. Hopefully that will inspire other people, other clubs, to get more involved in the international community,” ISNU member Lena Alawi said.Â
“I didn’t know it was Charity Week, but then I saw the plants and I just wanted to ask what it was about. And then [an ISNU member] said, ‘It’s for charity and the money goes to charity.’ So I thought to myself, why not just help someone, you know?” said Northeastern graduate student Nevetha Vijayan.
The campaign connects Northeastern students with humanitarian causes through fundraising events and community outreach while also highlighting how student-led initiatives can draw attention to larger global issues.Â
“We have to use the time that we have and the resources that we have to help those more in need,” Alawi said, reflecting on the overall mission of Charity Week and the impact campaigns like this have had on her community.