The Saleem Foundation, founded by Shaz Saleem, is a charity based in Kingswinford – a town in the West Midlands that places heavy emphasis on community unity.
Saleem recently revealed that the inspiration for him to start the organisation in 2019 was the tragic passing of his grandfather three years prior.
His grandad was his role model, and it it because of his legacy that he prides himself on the admirable work he so tirelessly conducts in and around the area.
Such work includes organising events to raise money for charities like the West Midlands Air Ambulance – just last week, his charity coffee afternoon raised £172.50 for the organisation, bringing the total raised to £1152.50 over the last month.
Living such a busy life, with events seemingly non-stop, can prove hectic for Saleem, but he claims to keep himself grounded by reminding himself as to why he started doing his community work.
“My grandad was a massive charity campaigner, and I was always encouraged and influenced by him,” he reflected.
“When I grew up, I told him that I wanted to do what he did – all the charity events and community work.
“When he sadly passed away in 2016, I took it hard.
“I struggled with mental health and I was self-harming; doing some real horrible stuff to myself.
“And one day, I thought ‘I’m not doing justice to my grandad – if I want to honour his legacy, I need to do positive things’.
“I formed The Saleem Foundation under his name, which helped me to fight my demons, honour his legacy and hopefully make him proud.”
Alongside honouring his grandad’s legacy, Saleem insisted that his around-the-clock graft for his area is also down to the admiration he has for Kingswinford.
He said: “I do it because I love it.
“I love my area so much and I want my kids to grow up being proud of where they live because there’s so much negativity around these days.
“With the litter picking, it’s so easy to say it’s not our problem and that the council should do it if we pay our taxes.
“But we live here, so we all have responsibility for the mess in some way, but even if you didn’t make it, be responsible for it, because if we tidy up after ourselves, who gets the benefit? We do!
“We’re all stakeholders, we all have a responsibility, and we all have a part to play in making our area nice.
“Besides, you do it because you love your own area and want to feel proud of it.”
The work done by The Saleem Foundation, established in 2019, has had a huge community impact so far, according to Saleem.
The High Sheriff Award winner stressed that the work the charity does helps thousands of people across the West Midlands in a myriad of ways.
“I think The Saleem Foundation has a huge impact,” he admitted.
“We made such a huge impact during COVID; we gave our food and we gave our deliveries to people to help them out.
“We’ve done foodbanks, awareness campaigns about mental health and domestic abuse, we produce films.
“It doesn’t have to be about taking part in crazy stunts, it could be fundraising events; simple coffee mornings are so important and impactful.”
“We want to try and help youngsters, engage people and get people together.”
Conducting charity and community work for such a long time has enabled Saleem to speak to people from all corners of the area, a hugely important impact for someone who thrives off interaction.
He shared a truly memorable story from a few years ago that shows exactly why the charity support work he and his organisation do is so crucial.
Saleem works closely with West Midlands Air Ambulance, a foundation who are striving to make CPR training mandatory in schools nationwide, and the memory he brought up proves their point exactly.
“There was a young lady that we helped locally that showed why CPR is so important,” he recalled with teary eyes.
“This girl was eight at the time when her mom had a seizure and her tongue blocked her airway, but she was able to help her mom and do CPR to save her mom’s life at just eight years old.
“Just imagine being in that eight-year-old’s shoes, seeing your mom have a fit and not being able to help her – it breaks my heart because you expect parents to save their kids’ lives, not the other way around.
“To have a young girl save her mom’s life – she’s a national hero!”
As aforementioned, the work Saleem does in helping local businesses and arranging fundraisers for various charities is second to none.
His graft does not stop there though, as he is currently planning to start work that boosts support for mental health sufferers in the area – a condition that troubles Saleem.
He said: “The reason why we started ‘The Cuppa Club’ was to get the elderly out of isolation and help improve their mental health, because mental health is such a big thing.
“People don’t realise what someone’s going through – just because someone’s smiling, it doesn’t mean they’re not dealing with stuff.
“I’m a proud guy who thinks he’s macho, but the reality is, I suffer too.
“I work closely with Tough Enough to Care, and the work they’re doing is so important and impactful.
“Everyone has certain moments that they have to go through, but it’s important that we do our best to help one another.”
Working so tirelessly for the community has seen Saleem recognised by many, and rightfully so.
Positive comments flood his social media feeds and local recognition is aplenty after improving the lives of many local residents.
With community the watchword, Saleem is bound to continue his hard work for his people, but how he next chooses to honour his grandad’s legacy remains to be seen.
