Carnegie Mellon students lead in Charity Week Qatar fundraising

For Charity Week 2025, students at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) organized an ambitious campaign of community events to secure the top fundraising position among schools, universities and institutions in Qatar. This significant effort, driven entirely by student initiatives, will support vital education projects around the globe. CMU-Q is a Qatar Foundation partner university.

Taking place across several countries, Charity Week is a student-led volunteer initiative to raise money for charitable projects. In Qatar, the funds are channeled to the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation, directly benefiting programs in places such as Gaza, Sudan, and Bangladesh.

“I am so proud of our students’ enthusiasm and ingenuity during Charity Week,” said Michael Trick, dean of CMU-Q. “Their efforts inspired our whole community, as well as many of their Education City classmates, to unite in supporting those who lack access to the life-changing power of education.”

The success of this year's campaign was a direct result of the effective collaboration and organization among the student body. Led by the Muslim Students Association (MSA), the core organizing team mobilized the students clubs, many of which hosted Charity Week events. More than 50 students served as volunteers across the seven-day campaign.

The activities included a bake sale, volleyball and football tournaments, an auction, arts and crafts stations and a trivia event. The week concluded with a reflection dinner hosted by the MSA.

Mohamed Elosta was the chair of the Charity Week organizing committee. “This was all about teamwork and community. It was fitting that we concluded the week by reflecting on why we participated in Charity Week: to unite our community in a common purpose and to use our skills and education to make real change in the world.”

The students were so energized by the success of Charity Week that they are already laying the groundwork for next year’s campaign.

“We learned so many lessons this year,” said Elosta. “Many of our ideas were not possible in such a short amount of time, but now we can start planning and make next year even better.