A youth organisation handed out over £2 million to charities at a meeting in London.

Guests gathered in the Cholmondeley room and terrace in the Houses of Parliament wfor the 'Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association' (AMYA), 'Mercy for Mankind' Parliamentary reception.

The 'Mercy for Mankind' campaign is a charitable initiative conceived by the AMYA which consists of various events aiming to contribute to British society financially, socially and environmentally.

Through its various activities the AMYA has this year alone raised a staggering £400,000 for 42 British charities, bringing its total to over £2 million over the past few years.

The fundraising for this past year alone consisted of store collections across the UK, a Paris to London cycle, a London Hyde Park and Manchester Heaton Park 10K run and a number of various regional activities.

During the reception, charities including the Royal British Legion, Barnardo’s, British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, Save the Children, Marie Curie and Great Ormond Street Hospital were presented with cheques which will go a long way in furthering their charitable missions.

The event was attended by a number of leading politicians including Tim Farron, the leader of the Liberal Democrat party, who after hearing of the work of AMYA, said, "You have made a massive difference for integration and community cohesion across the United Kingdom because of your commitment to acts of good and service to peace."

This was echoed by Sylvia Pilling, a victim of the Cumbria Floods who was provided with essential help during a perilous time by the youth of AMYA, Sylvia said, "I have never seen such dedication and I'm absolutely overwhelmed at the selflessness of the people who came ... I'm absolutely grateful for everything they did ... more people ought to know about this section of the Muslim community and what they do."

Ann Little, Head of fundraising for Barnardo's spoke of the longstanding relationship with AMYA saying, "The work that AMYA does in supporting Barnardo's is quite phenomenal. What is so special is that it is the young helping the young. AMYA provide an exemplary example of mentoring their youth and breaking down negative stereotypes.

"They turn up in all weathers for store collections but most importantly they are always smiling. My whole team absolutely love working with the volunteers."

National AMYA President, Mirza Waqas Ahmad said: "The motivation for our work is our religion, Islam, but today Muslims are in the press for the wrong reasons and our religion is being hijacked by those who profess to follow it but nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that Islam has taught us that serving others is a great means of getting God's love and nearness. Indeed our religion itself is the very motivation and inspiration underlying the objectives of our work.

"The very name of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association means to serve and so this spirit of serving others should forever remain ingrained in all of its members.

"Keeping all of this in view, I would like to assure all the dignitaries and guests in attendance that as loyal citizens of this country we Ahmadi Muslims will always seek to help those who are in need and will fully co-operate with all organisations that are involved in humanitarian relief."