Nazim Ali Receives Bradford Outstanding Contribution Award

Known as ‘Ramadan Runner’, Ali has raised around £750,000 for various charities over the last decade,

British Muslim charity fundraiser Nazim Ali has received Outstanding Contribution Award from University of Bradford in recognition of his significant dedication to charity, fundraising and humanitarian work in Bradford and internationally.

Known as ‘Ramadan Runner’, Ali raised around £750,000 for various charities over the last decade, funded the building of more than 250 homes in places like Pakistan and Uganda, a statement by University of Bradford read.

“I am surprised and humbled by this honor from my home city,” Nazim, 42, said ahead of the ceremony held on July 19.

“I live round the corner from the university, I did my undergraduate degree here, the first in my family to go to university. It means an enormous amount to me.”

Nazim’s achievements can be put into a long list. Earlier this year, he completed his 10th annual Ramadan 10K Run, raising nearly £60,000 to build 36 new homes for families in Uganda.

As founder and coordinator of the Creating Smiles Gifts Initiatives, Nazim regularly arranges for thousands of pounds worth of gifts to be donated for poorly children at Bradford Royal Infirmary and Airedale Hospital, through sponsors, Saveco Cash & Carry. 

He also dishes out warm meals to the homeless at the Bradford Curry Circle Food Project every Thursday evening. 

First Spark

His first London Marathon in 2002, in which he raised £560 for the charity Whizz-Kidz, which provides mobility equipment to children with disabilities, was the spark that inspired him to make a difference.

He said, “I have that flame inside me that wants to make a difference, but I always say, ‘You’re only as good as your last performance.’ I have to keep it up. I always want to do more and to try and improve myself.”

Nazim has received a number of awards, including the prestigious British Citizen Award, presented at the Palace of Westminster. In 2022, he was invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party in recognition of his two decades of community and charity work (pictured above).

He has previously been a Lay Member on the North and West Yorkshire Advisory Committee and in 2001, aged 21, he was the youngest Chair of Girlington Community Centre. Nazim has also served on several other community and regeneration boards.

SOURCE: https://aboutislam.net/muslim-issues/europe/nazim-ali-receives-bradford-outstanding-contribution-award/