Former England Cricketer and Young Muslims to Raise 2 Million Pounds for Charities

LONDON, April 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Young Muslims from around the country travelled to London's Hyde Park to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for several UK and international charities. Hundreds of volunteers, as young as 6 years old, took part in the 31st "Mercy for Mankind" charity challenge organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA).

In previous years, the charity raised a total of 1.6 million pounds for dozens of charities. This year they hope to raise the amount by £400,000 to bring the total to 2 million.  Due to the AMYA's continued commitment to charitable causes, charities such as CLIC Sargent and Humanity First came forward to support the event as official partners and suppliers.

Leading up to the event, volunteers arranged a number of local fund raising initiatives in schools, football stadiums and supermarkets to raise money for great causes such as Save the Children, NSPCC, Barnardo's, CLIC Sargent, UNICEF, The Silver Line, The Royal British Legion, Macmillan Cancer Support, British Heart Foundation, LLR, RNIB, and the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability.

Volunteers were joined by former England Cricketer and Ashes Winner Matthew Hoggard, Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change Ed Davey and Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening.

Matthew Hoggard commented:

"Mercy for Mankind - I think mankind says it all. It doesn't matter where you come from, what your background is. We all have the same beliefs, the same upbringings and to see so many youngsters, raising money for great causes is great"

Speaking about AMYA's contribution to society, Ed Davey said:

"The AMYA is an amazing group within your community that brings everyone together and does such amazing things"

"Your whole focus is on goodness and helping other people. I've had the privilege of listening to his holiness talk about charitable works and the importance which he places on charitable works"

Justine Greening further added:

"You really do have a massive impact on us all for the better I believe"

"The role of AMYA is a shining example of the kind of work young people are doing all over the country"

National President of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association UK, Mirza Waqas Ahmad said:

"All the participants, the charities and the prestigious venue all made the Mercy for Mankind run a thoroughly enjoyable event and we were blessed with excellent weather. We are already looking forward to our next charity event and are keen to raise even more for charity."

"Everything we do with humanitarian efforts are charitable works which has been taught to us by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who was a Mercy for Mankind. Accordingly, we wanted to capture that and we thought that the title 'Mercy4Mankind' was perfect for these charitable efforts."

The AMYA is the UK's largest organised Muslim youth organisation and the leading Muslim youth group challenging extremism in the UK. For more information about the event, or to donate, visit: http://www.mercy4mankind.org/

For media enquiries please contact the AMYA press office:
Jamal Akbar (+44(0)7961-444-005)/Farooq Aftab (+44(0)7584-100659)
Email: press@khuddam.org.uk
Twitter: @MKA_UK
Website: http://www.muslimsforhumanity.org.uk/

- Hi-resolution images for use by print and online outlets are available to download 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qewzqekq3co530p/AACO3uDBVbvv19Etgvq_rBK8a?dl=0