Funding the creation of classrooms and schools with The Citizens Foundation at UTM
Meet TCF UTM—a club dedicated to educating children in Pakistan through fundraisers.
The Citizens Foundation (TCF) at the University of Toronto (U of T) Mississauga (UTM) is a nonprofit organization that exists “to provide educational opportunities for underprivileged children.”
So far, the student group has raised between C$18,000 and C$20,000 for charity through fundraising events and initiatives. Their most recent fundraising event was an “Iftar” dinner (a meal held at sunset to break fast during Ramadan, the ninth and holiest month in the Islamic calendar) in collaboration with the Pakistan Student Association (PSA) and OPEN UTM.
To learn more about the club, The Medium sat down with TFC’s Co-Presidents Mannha Basit, a third-year student in visual culture and communications, and Shahmeer Hashmi, a soon-to-be graduate studying “a mixture of health sciences, business and chemistry,” according to Hashmi.
The inspiration
What motivated Hashimi to join TCF was “the opportunity to help make a difference and raise money for a charitable cause.” He recounted his experience back in Pakistan, where he witnessed the terrible circumstances that the lack of education put children in.
“That’s why I wanted to join TFC UTM in the first place,” Hashimi said. “I took it kind of as a challenge to help make the club as good as possible. And to make a lasting impression both on campus and globally.”
On the other hand, Basit was inspired to join the club in her second year, when she looked to become part of a community on campus. TCF stood out to her because it was an organization based on a cause.
“TCF connected to me because I went to school in Pakistan when I was really young.” Basit shared. “TFC felt like a way to connect and help back home. Also, I’ve always been really passionate about equal education opportunities, especially for women.”
Fundraising
After a year of “laying the foundation,” TCF UTM has raised attention for the club and promoted its goals amongst the student body. According to Hashimi, the club’s main goals are “to raise money and awareness”.
This year, TCF UTM set out to raise C$34,000, which is sufficient to sponsor a school in Pakistan for a year. The club planned to fundraise and host events for the cause as much as possible.
“I think it is a little bit ambitious with a month and a half left now,” Hashimi admitted, “But hopefully, fingers crossed, that we can sponsor at least a few classrooms by the end of the year.”
For a charity group like TCF, outreach is key to accomplishing its goals. Basit shared that their outreach is done mainly through events, tabling and Instagram. And he credited the club’s social media presence to their marketing team.
In addition, events like the TCF Cafe Bake Sale held last September, and the ongoing TCF Charity Markets have been especially important for initiating discussions about their cause. In particular, the TCF Charity Markets have raised awareness beyond the UTM community, as conversations were carried out with other vendors.
Bigger in scale, but values remain unchanged
On February 12, TCF joined forces with The Citizens Foundation Student Chapter (TCF U of T) and the Pakistani Students’ Association at the Scarborough campus (PSA UTSC) to host “Junoon: A U of T Tri-Campus Formal.” Hashimi shared that the event “raised a couple thousand for the cause.”
“It went quite well,” said Basit. “We even had people from outside the U of T community, like students from McMaster, Laurier and York.”
One of the highlights of the event was the auction held, which served as a primary source for fundraising. This was possible thanks to a variety of donors. One of the companies that contributed to the auction was Seiko Watch, which donated a watch worth over $C600 and got auctioned off for about C$450 to C$500. The funds raised at the event were split between the TFC chapters and fully donated to the foundation.
“We don’t pocket any [money] at the end of the year,” Hashimi said. Money raised during the year is sometimes invested towards larger events like the Junoon formal to accumulate more funds.
Looking forward
“Next year, we hope to see more ‘bigger events’ that engage a larger part of the school community,” said Hashimi.
As a team with close to 30 members, the TCF UTM executive team is motivated by their desire to help Pakistan, UTM, and the world through their initiatives and passion for equal education opportunities.
“At the end of the year, when we can share that we were able to help build a classroom or a school, it makes everything worth it. All the stress and everything,” said Basit.
Hashimi added, “Seeing the kids that we’ve helped grow up and do something, and help make a difference in the world. I think that’s a really good thing.”
TCF UTM is planning to organize another Charity Market from March 11 to March 13 at UTM’s Communication, Culture, Information & Technology (CCIT) building. On top of that, the club will host another Iftar and promote an annual online fundraiser before the end of Ramadan.
Students interested can support TCF UTM through donations and getting involved by following the club’s events on their Instagram @tcfutm.
