The Townsend Harris Muslim Students Association (MSA) dedicated a week in October to community-driven fundraising activities as part of an annual Charity Week initiative run in collaboration with other high school and college students. On November 23, the THHS MSA attended the New York Charity Week Banquet in Long Island City to meet with MSAs from other high schools and colleges that also participated in Charity Week 2025.
Charity Week is an international unity project that is volunteer-led, bringing together people from all around the world, usually in schools and colleges, under the cause of fundraising for children and orphans worldwide, according to the organization’s official website. The THHS MSA began taking part in the event last year where they raised approximately $600, and nearly doubled that total this year, raising over $1000 across all events and donations.
Co-President of MSA and senior Thaseena Anjum said “The banquet was very unifying and exhilarating. I’m super proud of myself, the MSA board, and the entirety of the Townsend Harris community for coming together to raise the amount that we did.”
“I’m also super proud that we got nominated for [the Seeds of Service] award as well, ” said Thaseena. “I truly felt blessed to be invited to a space like this and Charity Week never disappoints in their banquets with the most amazing food, venue, speakers and the beautiful atmosphere of excitement of what we did this Charity Week.”
According to Thaseena, the focus of this year was raising money to be donated to places such as Sudan, Palestine, and Bangladesh, as well as “many other places that do not have as much media attention but are going through equally worse events.”
Each day, the MSA hosted a unique event and donated all proceeds to Islamic Relief through their Charity Week fundraising page. These events included selling coffee and matcha in the morning, offering henna tattoos, making tote-bags, hosting a thrift event, selling burrito bowls, and serving mojito mocktails at a local mosque.
“We had to brainstorm ideas that were both fun and would attract a lot of people,” said senior and MSA Co-President Ananna Ali. “Each event had to be carefully organized from supplies to volunteers and it was definitely a team effort that required a lot of planning ahead of time.”
Thaseena spoke to the variety and differing level of successes of different events. “Our pop-up thrift event made less than $10 while our burrito bowl event made around $300,” she said. “We also had interest in our lychee mojitos and matcha that we had originally only planned to be available on Tuesday but due to the interest we extended throughout the week.”
MSA Advisor and Assistant Principal of Organization Ellen Fee noted how planning and hosting events required cooperation between board members.
“The executive board came up with creative fundraising ideas beyond the usual bake sales, which meant organizing materials in advance, coordinating space, and managing timing,” said Ms. Fee. “It was challenging but also rewarding to see everything come together.”
Students who took part in the events spoke about how where the fundraised money played a role in encouraging them to participate.
“I think that through the many reels that we made and the meetings we held throughout the week regarding issues that people might not be aware of, we were able to connect with people and help them understand that this is a cause worth donating to,” said junior and MIST Coordinator Sabrina Chaudhry. “For me personally, the events and everything that I learned throughout the week made me motivated to donate whenever I possibly could.”
Junior MD Faheem Alam also volunteered at the burrito bowl event alongside MSA board members said that the event “had a great atmosphere” not only because of peoples’ energy, but also because the event “brought people together for a good cause.”
He also said, “Knowing that the money goes to helping orphans and children in need really made me want to donate. I liked how Islamic Relief’s mission focuses on uniting people to make a difference, which made the event feel more meaningful.”
Sophomore Izyan Aslam said how “the mission” of Charity Week “definitely played a role” in his decision to purchase a lychee mojito, allowing him to be a part of the cause and also try something new.
Sabrina said, “To me, it isn’t even about the type of events that we have. I personally care more about the fact that these events all have one thing in common, which is that they allow us to educate people on important issues as well as take a more hands-on role in providing help to people in need by raising money and awareness for them.”
“Fundraising for charitable causes isn’t something most young people naturally do, so it’s an amazing opportunity for students to learn leadership, creativity, and empathy,” said Ms. Fee. “It encourages them to be relevant, think outside the box, and use their talents to make a real difference for those in need.”
