A three-month-long national campaign organized to support ongoing relief efforts in Gaza concluded outside Sheffield’s Student Union with 30,000 kick-ups.
The campaign, which ended with the kick-ups on April 30th, aimed to raise funds for Medical Aid Palestine by way of interactive football tournaments and challenges, which were completed on several university campuses across the country.
Famila Hussain, 24, president of the University of Sheffield’s Palestinian Society, said: “It really appealed to a lot of people’s interests, they find it fun and want to participate, through that, they learn about the cause and see why it’s so important to support it, so it’s been great.”
Famila called the initiative, which has had great success, ‘inspiring’ to watch, showing ‘the power of’ turning a hobby into something more substantial.
The kick-up challenge, which began at 7am and finished at 8 pm, was completed by charity volunteers and passing students or staff.
At the completion of 30,000 kick-ups, Goals For Gaza announced that £8,300 had been raised for Palestine, surpassing their target of £7,000.
One volunteer, Raidh Razeen, 19, who lives in St Georges Close, said: “There has been a lot of laughter, smiles, passion, and some shyness. We’ve been here since 7 this morning, and over 200 people have signed up to do kicks, so the response has been really positive.”
The kick-ups were held alongside several related events, including a bake sale, a pottery workshop, and a henna stall, with all proceeds going towards the fundraiser.
Raidh hopes to continue raising money for Gaza with the organization in the coming years.
In a speech, Haider Ali, founder of Goals For Gaza said: “As much fun as it was doing 30,000 kickups today, as hard as it was as well, it was nothing compared to the difficulties that the Palestinians face, the kickups were a bit of fun, but we should remember what this has all been about.”
He added: “The donations aren’t the true mark of success, genuinely, if even one person left feeling low about Palestine or having learned one thing, that the real success.”
