A HOSPICE serving West Oxfordshire is one of the chosen beneficiaries of a donation from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

The Ahmadiyya group is one of Britain’s oldest Muslim communities and to help mark its centenary the UK branch has been giving away 100 separate donations of £500 to charitable organisations across the country.

The community has asked local authorities for their help in choosing worthy causes and West Oxfordshire District Council’s Chairman, Councillor Norman MacRae, was among those contacted.

He met with members of the group this week to hand over a cheque to Oxford-based Helen and Douglas House Hospice, which provides hospice and palliative care for terminally ill children, young adults and their families.

Cllr MacRae said: “We are extremely grateful for this very generous donation and I feel honoured to be in a position to pass it on to one of our very worthy local causes here in Oxfordshire. I have visited Helen and Douglas House and it is a very special place, doing very many great and wonderful things to help young people and their families.”

Dr Munawar Ahmed, a former President and member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community who lives in Oxford, said: “All of our beliefs centre around humanity and we live by the rule that we should look after the people around us and that is what these donations are meant to reflect as we celebrate our centenary year. Members of our community raised over £700,000 last year through charity events and we take great pride in donating to charities and good causes that support our fellow people.”

Alison Hooker, community fundraiser for Helen & Douglas House, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community for their donation. We have to raise over £5m every year to keep services and rely heavily on the generosity of our local community to enable us to care for children and young people with life-shortening conditions.”