Young Muslims turned up in force across the region to collect money for Save the Children UK.

Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) from Merton have been helping Save the Children as a mark of good citizenship and a testament to the Islamic teaching of demonstrating love for all.

Dozens of volunteers from the association were stationed at the Wimbledon and Mitcham Morrisons' stores on Saturday December 15 and Sunday December 16 where they packed shopper's bags.

The collections were part of a London wide campaign by the AMYA to contribute both positively and pro-actively to Great Britain in different ways. This has included blood drives; tree planting; charity walks; peace conferences; public lectures; and interfaith meetings.

Sohail Choudary, Regional Youth Leader of the AMYA Merton branch, which comprises a membership of more than 500 young British Muslims, said: “We are Extremely pleased and proud to support Save the Children. In a time when certain quarters of society have wrongly associated the abuse of vulnerable children with Islam and Muslims, we feel it important to make it clear that Islam teaches the exact opposite. With this in mind, we have supported, and will continue to do so, the protection of the young through raising money for both Save the Children and the NSPCC.

''We therefore hope that our participation is a clear indication of our desire for peace and unity between all nations, peoples and religions. Our volunteers turned out in their droves to support this campaign and were met by the very generous and kind hearted people that make up our wonderful borough."

Rachael Willis Fleming, Project Manager, Corporate Partnerships at Save the Children said: "We are absolutely delighted that AMYA are supporting our Christmas collections in Morrison’s this weekend.

"By bag packing in stores, the volunteers will be helping to raise vital funds to support Save the Children's work in the UK. We are incredibly grateful to the AMYA volunteers for giving up their time, as it is only with support like theirs that we can achieve our goal to give UK children the chance of a brighter future."

Based on information supplied by Anser Zafar.