The IUS Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign (IHBDC) was honoured to be invited to the annual Balham and Tooting Community Association (BATCA) award ceremony held at Jasmin’s Banqueting Suite on Thursday 24th November 2016
BATCA was formed 10 years ago and aims at bringing together the local community from different faiths, cultures, ages and backgrounds in order to work together for the benefit of all. Annually, it hosts an award ceremony to recognise the resident organisations, which play a vital role in supporting the locals.
Given the fantastic efforts of the South London IHBDC team and their excellent relationship with St George’s Hospital in Tooting, IHBDC were nominated to receive an award. This in itself was a great honour as it demonstrated that the hard work undertaken by the team had not gone unnoticed by the wider public.
The night was a splendid sight to behold. The room was filled with over 200 guests from varying backgrounds, all sitting together and enjoying one another’s company. There was some light entertainment throughout the evening and some delightful Indian food was served for dinner. Naturally, the bulk of the night was dedicated to giving awards to phenomenal local individuals and organisations which play a crucial role in the wellbeing of the community. Notable guests such as Richard Field, Mayor of Wandsworth, Lord Bird, founder of ‘The Big Issue’, and Rosena Allin-Khan, MP for Tooting, gave out these awards.
The organisations were individually called up to the stage to receive their award and briefly describe what they do. Incredibly, IHBDC was welcomed to the stage by the Mayor of Wandsworth, particularly for the work it has done with St George’s Hospital. With this opportunity, I briefly described to the audience who Imam Hussain was and what we in the IHBDC do under his name. This was a fantastic moment of exposure for the campaign as a whole and a sign that the work being done is absolutely vital. However, it was unfortunate that more meritorious members of the team were not available to receive the reward.
I would like to thank the BATCA committee for inviting use to attend their prestigious and enjoyable event; it was very well organised. I would also like to thank them for recognising the hard work our team has put in to the campaign and to increasing regular Muslim blood donors. Finally, I would like to thank them for providing us with a platform to explain who we are and to bond new friendships with the local community.
Yousif Twaij
IHBDC Marketing Director
