The sixth annual Fill a Purse for a Sister campaign ended earlier this month with 313 purses filled by the Bradford Women's+ Group for women in need.
Their goal was to fill and donate 100 purses, and the women's group organizer Jennifer Lloyd says she is overwhelmed with the amount of support received this year.
"We were so happy with the result. The generosity of the community is truly heartwarming," said Lloyd. "We actually had over 100 empty purses left for next year and we were able to donate leftover items to the food bank and Abuse Hurts."
All bags were filled with feminine hygiene products, tissues, hand sanitizers, reusable cloth face masks, gloves, and lip balm and the like to help women in need.
Due to COVID, the women's group was unable to meet in person as they normally do to stuff the purses, but instead had various businesses and community members sign up to be a drop-off location where community members could drop off items.
Recipients of the purses went to The Bradford Helping Hand Food Bank, Abuse Hurts, CONTACT Community Services, UPLift Black, and Imani's Place.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association took part in their own collection and was able to fill and donate 25 purses.
"The service of mankind, "Haqooq-ul-Ibaad" is one of the most important aspects of a Muslim's life," explains Association member Sadaf Naseem "Islam emphasizes the act of taking care of our neighbours, society, community, and the needy."
"We as Ahmadi Muslims follow the motto, “Love for All, Hatred for None", and charity is the best way to show love and kindness to each other that promotes loyalty, equality, freedom, respect and peace. I hope that even a bit of our efforts made someone smile, and encouraged people to help others in need."
