Fundraising bid for church seeking long term transformation 

A Baptist church is seeking backing for its ambitious project to help create a new performance space and coffee shop

 
TransformShoreditch is a new partnership between
Shoreditch Tabernacle Baptist Church and social action movement TransformUK which aims to bring 'transformational love' to its local community.

It has launched a crowdfunding campaign as part of a desire to serve the community in the best way possible.
 
The funds will enable the creation and fitting out of a brand new:  

• Coffee shop and community cafe with a garden: Serving great locally roasted coffee and healthy food, hosting workshops for the local community, bringing people together in a hub space, hosting employment training programmes alongside volunteering and work placements, and creating jobs.
• Arts and performance space: Hosting a range of arts projects and creative workshops, bringing the community together for performances and creating volunteering placements and jobs.
• Recording studio and media training suite: Hosting a range of media and creative training and education programmes, providing a space for local people to record music and creating volunteer and work placement opportunities.  

 
The space for all of these projects will be provided by the Baptist church, also known as The Tab, in its brand new building. The church has teamed up with Transform UK, which has been established to bring locally-focused, transformational love to the poorest parts of the UK, to launch TransformShoreditch. TransformShoreditch is the first location of TransformUK.
 
In its fundraising bid it explains that while there has been a significant amount of regeneration in the local area, ‘there is still a disconnect between the thriving new affluence and the disadvantage that exists in the community.’

It continues: ‘Our project will help to bring the community together and provide healthy food and craft coffee, host community initiatives, provide opportunities to access the arts and provide training and employment opportunities to disadvantaged and disengaged young people.

‘TransformShoreditch will be more than a community centre. It is an ambitious, exciting and bold project with the potential to transform our community long term!

‘We have a wonderfully diverse range of people we encourage and support, and we want to nurture community and enterprise to bring together the creative excellence in Shoreditch and more disadvantaged members of our community.

'We want to take this opportunity to utilise this amazing new space to be able to serve the community in the best way possible.’

To find out more or donate, visit: https://www.spacehive.com/transformshoreditch

For further information or if you would like to get involved in volunteering on some of the youth and community projects, please contact dominyroe@transformuk.org.uk