Faith, charity and the cost of living (June 2025)

Rae is a religion and ethics teacher and broadcaster. She is a reporter for BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live and presents segments for BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought. Rae has taught Religious Studies at several London secondary schools and has contributed to discussions on issues of faith and current affairs for Good Morning Britain, Sky News and Channel 5 News.

Sharon is the Head of Chesed and Volunteering at the United Synagogue. ‘Chesed’ is a key pillar of Judaism meaning loving-kindness. The United Synagogue runs a kosher foodbank, supports care and welfare in synagogues through a network of dedicated volunteers, provides hospital visits and prison chaplaincy services and offers bursaries to help young people participate in opportunities like Jewish summer camps. Sharon and her team also support the wider community through various initiatives, including a drop-in centre for asylum seekers and distributing resources and meals to the homeless.

Sohail is the Chief Executive of the National Zakat Foundation (NZF), a nationwide network of support powered by Zakat, that transforms the lives of Muslims in need across the UK. He has served as Head of Research and Development at NZF, lecturer at Cambridge Muslim College, and Head of Sciences at the Qasid Arabic Institute in Amman. Sohail studied completed his PhD at the University of Oxford where he was awarded the 2019 BRAIS-De Gruyter Prize by the British Association for Islamic Studies.

Graeme is the Chief Mission Officer at Christians Against Poverty’s (CAP), a Christian charity that provides help to people experiencing debt and poverty in the UK. Graeme brings a background in community development, fundraising and theology to his leadership at CAP, which was honed during his seven years at Tearfund, where he became the Head of Church & Supporter Engagement.

Vijay volunteers for Nishkam Sikh Welfare and Awareness Team (NishkamSWAT), a charity that provides more than 5000 meals to the homeless every week. Inspired by the Sikh principle of langar, NishkamSWAT is based in West London but operates across the UK. Vijay supports the charity’s work in his home county of Lancashire.