Zahida Ramzan- Asghar is a volunteer for The Date Project, an organisation who, through selling dates during the month of Ramadan, is able to support multiple charities in the UK and around the world. Here we will delve into the history of the organisation and how Cinch Self Storage Watford has been helpful. 

The Date Project began in 2015 with the aim being to raise funds for the Al-Huda Bakery in Syria by selling boxes of the finest Medjool dates for £10 during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting. This simple idea has grown over the last ten years to become an organisation, in conjunction with the charity, One Nation, that has been able to help a vast variety of charities, countries and people.

The Mission Of The Date Project 

The mission of The Date Project is to bring together the joyous spirit of Ramadan and a commitment to make the world a better place. They achieve this by selling high quality dates, for £10, and 100% of the profits go to charitable organisations, helping to uplift and empower those in need, including Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Orphans project, Rohingya, Africa and UK Charities such as providing food packs for destitute families in UK and supporting work of Safeena Muslim Cancer Network.

The project is entirely volunteer led, from top to bottom, and, in 2025, they have 2,500 volunteers. Over the last ten years, The Date Project has successfully sold 1.2 million date tins. Through their efforts, they have raised over £5.5 million for charitable causes, directing 100% of their profits toward making a meaningful difference.

The Growth Of The Date Project

The Date Project began in 2015 and Zahida has been volunteering at the organisation for the last eight years. Over these years, she has seen the project grow before her eyes and, now as a team leader, she is in charge of 80 volunteers and the distribution of dates in Watford and the surrounding area. 

When Zahida began volunteering, eight years ago, her team was allocated 250 tins of dates but their latest allocation was around 7,300 tins. 

How Cinch Self Storage Watford Has Helped 

This growth has been wonderful for the project but it has meant that changes have had to be made to their storage solutions. This has led to the use of self storage and is how Cinch Self Storage Watford entered the picture. 

In 2024, this was organised by the charity but, in 2025, Zahida and her team had to organise it themselves. Choosing to use a self storage company that the charity had used before, Zahida asked for a 160 square foot, ground floor unit. Upon going to visit the unit, she found she had been allocated a unit on the 2nd floor that was very tight. Needing to find an alternative, Zahida found herself stressed when their current storage company failed to get back in touch about their requests for a different storage unit.

Knowing they needed an alternative quickly, one of her colleagues did some research and found Cinch Self Storage Watford. 

“My colleague told me Cinch Self Storage had ample parking for delivery, the unit was on the ground floor and right near the entrance and that the team understood their needs and have been very accommodating.”

Finding The Perfect Space 

Zahida quickly made the decision to go with Cinch Self Storage Watford as they were in desperate need of a storage space but quickly realised they had found the perfect space. 

“The space we were given was right by the entrance so it was perfect. The room was the perfect size, with room for the dates and the 5-6 volunteers who were sorting them. There were always 2 or 3 members of the Cinch Storage team present during office hours so if we had any questions or concerns, they were there to support us. Compared to the experience with the other storage company, it was seamless. The team, particularly Natalie and Mitesh, were extremely helpful. Everything was absolutely brilliant. I couldn’t praise it enough. I have fed back to the charity my experience of using Cinch Self Storage as we are a nationwide charity and we use storage quite a bit.” 

We are so happy that our Watford team has provided such a worthy cause with such excellent customer service. 

How You Can Help The Date Project 

Although the charity’s main activity happens over a short period of time, they do also continue to help through the empty dates tins. Once the date tins are empty, people can fill them with toys and the project will ship them to Syria for the children there and to children in the UK, where there is need. Along with this, for the rest of the year, planning takes place so they are prepared and ready each year as Ramadan approaches. 

If you would like to help The Date Project by purchasing a tin of dates or by volunteering, you can find more information on their website – thedateproject.org 

If you would like to know more about Cinch Self Storage Watford, please click here.