The Shade – a Manor Park non-profit offering a range of community activities and services – is opening a new community hub at The Willow Rooms, in Willow Street.
Refurbishment works are underway to improve the interiors at the former function rooms, with the charity intending to start running activities from mid to late September.
A spokesperson for The Shade told the Recorder that the organisation’s projects include everything from kickboxing classes to archery and an over 50s tea club – many of which they hope to bring to Romford.
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The spokesperson said: “We’ve been operating a model for a number of years now and the whole model is community-based.
“Even though it is true that we are a faith-based organisation, our services are open to everyone.
“Our work is louder than what we say – we do the work and let people benefit from it.”
By running prayer services and tuition sessions – in subjects such as English and maths – at its Manor Park site, the charity can raise money to put back into its other activities, the spokesperson explained.
The charity’s football academy is attended by almost 200 children (Image: The Shade football club)
The Shade also has a focus on youth work, including running a youth club and a football academy attended by almost 200 children in the Manor Park area.
But as The Willow Rooms is a smaller site, in a different community, the charity says the services there will reflect that.
“[The Willow Rooms] is going to be more like a smaller community hub,” the spokesperson told the Recorder.
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“We will actually replicate some of the successful activities we are running in Manor Park but every activity might not work.
“It depends on the palette of the local people.
“In Manor Park it’s different because Manor Park is a densely populated Muslim area, so you can understand that there is going to be a big proportion of Muslims participating.
“In Romford, I’m expecting the vast majority of users to be from other backgrounds.”
