BIRMINGHAM: The 4th August saw one of the biggest community engagement events ever held at Tally Ho! as the West Midlands Association of Muslim Police (WM AMP) hosted a community charity fun day.
The event saw over 1,800 members attend, including families, partners, staff and children from a wide range of backgrounds get together.
The idea of the event was to host something and engage our communities in times of peace and not just crisis. “We often lean on them in times of crisis, and this was a great opportunity to put something on, where the theme was just to relax, shake hands and smile”.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “This was a hugely successful event which showed WMP in just the right light given all the awful events nationally. I attended with my family and spoke to lots of people who were most impressed with the day WM AMP delivered for the community.
“A fantastic amount raised for a great cause which will no doubt go a long way. It is absolutely right that policing is accessible in all times and I am very thankful to all that participated.”
The event included a men’s cricket tournament and a women’s basketball tournament. Stalls included henna, sweets, perfumes, face painting, desserts, samosas and pakoras, jewellery, clothing, mocktails, Chai and more.
Colleagues from our all across our force attended, including Traffic, Firearms, Drones, Dogs, Recruitment, as well St Johns Ambulance, who gave talks explaining what they all do.
WM AMP Chair, Imam Emad Choudhury, said: “This was our biggest event ever. A chance for communities to see us as real people who will always do our best to protect and serve was awesome.
“Everyone enjoyed the day and I am blown away by the attendance. I want to place on record my thanks to everyone, mainly the WM AMP family, who do this on their own time on top of busy day roles. May the Almighty reward us all.’
The event raised £6,276.33 for charity. This will be donated across Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Islamic Help. The projects they will be spent on will help poorly children locally and afar, who need life-saving treatment.