A TOP Bradford fundraiser managed to pull in more than £1,000 to buy gifts for children who had missed out during the pandemic.

Shazuna Ali, Project Officer at BEAP Community Partnership, won the Fundraiser of the Year Award at the Community Stars Awards last Wednesday.

There were 1,525 votes in the category in total, with Mrs Ali receiving 608 of those.

The other finalists were, IWCUK (Indian Women’s Community UK) and St Anne’s School Keighley

Mrs Ali was not at the ceremony.

Charles Dacres said: "Unfortunately Shazuna is unable to be here, so we will present that award to her a little bit later on when she returns."

Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Bev Mullaney collected the award on Mrs Ali's behalf.

Mrs Ali described how she would feel if she won the award in an interview for her shortlist video that was played before a winner was announced on the night of the ceremony.

She said: "Oh gosh, I feel so overwhelmed as it is already.

"But it would be amazing because it was a massive achievement."

The BEAP Community Partnership that Mrs Ali is part of, focuses on providing services to address the high levels of deprivation and disadvantage in the Manningham area of Bradford, particularly the Bangladeshi community.

It also aims to engage with local people, helping them to form and action their own agendas for positive change (sustainable, and people oriented).

This was never more important than during the pandemic when disparities were widened.

Mrs Ali specifically tried to tackle this by organising a number of events, including planning and coordinating two large Eid events to help bring children together safely.

She raised funds from local businesses and friends so that she could buy gifts for the children, and made more than £1,000 in the process.

One person who nominated Mrs Ali said these gifts were vital, as many families could not afford to give their children presents after losing their jobs during the pandemic.

Mrs Ali said: "I thought the nicest little thing to do is present them with something that will put a smile on their face.

"So that just made me think of the idea of having Eid gifts."

Humayun Islam, who is also from BEAP, said: "I nominated Shazuna because during the Covid period, it was the latter end of the Covid period where we could engage with young people and children again.

"She went out of her way to get donations and gifts, so that when we held our fun day, that these children who missed out on Eid gifts and gifts throughout the year, that they had an opportunity to have a gift here that was donated."

He added: "Shazuna having that opportunity to be recognised, it would be amazing for BEAP to show that this is what we do as an organisation, to empower, especially women."

Another person who nominated Mrs Ali said: “Shazuna is kind, passionate and always puts others first."