An Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) medal has been awarded to Manchester’s Aamer Naeem, the Chief Executive Officer of Penny Appeal, in the Queen’s 2019 New Year Honours list.

The award recognises Aamer’s services to the Muslim Community alongside his work within the charity sector as the Global Chief Executive of Penny Appeal, a multi-award-winning relief and development agency working in over 30 countries around the world and at home in the UK.

In the 5 years that Aamer has been leading Penny Appeal, he has grown their annual income from £400k to in excess of a staggering £24m. His leadership at Penny Appeal, has accredited him with creating one of the fastest growing charities in the faith-led sector.

His initiatives in creating fundraising platforms such as the very first British Muslim Panto, The Great British Muslim Variety Show and the Super Muslim Comedy tours have broken barriers.

It was Aamer’s 2018, Winter campaign drive that saw several life size ice sculptures being launched in the middle of Canary Wharf’s business centre by leaders of various faiths to show greater awareness of the plight of homelessness in today’s society, once again affirming Aamer’s drive in interfaith work across Britain.

Aamer is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has sat as a Fitness to Practice Committee member on behalf of the General Pharmaceutical Council of Great Britain as well as the General Teaching Council for England.

Aamer said, "I am very honoured to receive an OBE award, I’ve been privileged to work on some great projects alongside some great people.

"I hope that I and many more Muslims can help create an even more caring Britain for all.

"Together, we can create a greater sense of belonging, more integration and less division, A Britain that cares and a nation that loves its neighbours in these times of uncertainty. I’m confidently Muslim and comfortably British."