Staff and students at Gateway Sixth Form College have raised over £6000 in just 5 days by joining together to support the humanitarian efforts taking place in the middle east.
The money will be donated to a number of charities including, Islamic Relief, Humanity without Borders, Save the Children, Al-Khair, One Nation, Doctors without borders and UNRWA to provide aid and relief.
Faika Saiyed, Head of Science and maths at the College who led the campaign and says,
“We were inspired into action as the events in Palestine have affected many of our staff and students and we wanted to do something positive to help and raise awareness. Many colleagues and students told me that they didn’t understand what was happening and wanted to be better informed but didn’t know how to start the conversation.”
Faika reached out to staff and students from across the College to ask for their input and together they ran an event each day from Monday 27th November to Friday 1st December. She added,
“We were overwhelmed with response and amazed at how the events grew bigger each day. We began by collecting donations and selling snacks and refreshments and as the week progressed this expanded into clothing, jewellery, cosmetics, homeware and artwork! We also distributed literature and information to help to break down barriers, raise awareness and create a safe space to ask questions have discussions.”
“Several local businesses donated food and prizes for the raffle and other games. We have been amazed at the support we have received and are very grateful to and proud of our Gateway community.”
It was also important that the students involved gained valuable experience to develop their own character and confidence through their contributions, reflecting Gateway Colleges Attributes and British Values. This was demonstrated in students’ behaviour and attitudes, including being respectful of the views of others and respectful when sharing their own views, understanding that different people have different opinions and that is okay, we can all co-exist, handling money and being honest at all times and getting things done to a high standard.
To see pictures from the event, go to – https://www.facebook.com/GatewayCollegeL/posts/