Community leaders, army personnel and members of the community gathered on Tuesday 7 February for the official launch of Eden Community Association (ECA)
The ECA, which has been in the making for two years, after providing services to the community due to the unprecedented pandemic, will be a vibrant multipurpose organisation to provide a wide range of services and opportunities for local people of all ages.
In attendance were Ed Anderson CBE Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Lord Mayor of Bradford Cllr Martin Love, Colonel Andrew Black from the British army, Humayun Islam from BEAP, along with over a hundred guests from across the district.
Ed Anderson CBE, Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire said: “I am delighted to join the Lord Mayor of Bradford Martin Love at the official launch of the Eden Community Association in Keighley.” He went on to wish the organisation well and praised the name of the association.
Lord Mayor of Bradford Cllr Martin Love added his support and wishes. He said: “I wish Eden Community Association all the best for the future.
“I would like to congratulate all officers and volunteers of Eden who are providing vital services during the cost-of-living crisis. I wish you to continue to educate, develop, empower and to network local community.”
The ECA team were delighted with the response from the launch, which saw more than a hundred people attend.
General Secretary of ECA, Ashraf Miah said: “I extremely proud of how the official grand
opening of Eden Community Association has gone, which was attended by over 100 people.
“Our group has been instrumental during the Covid-19 pandemic in supporting the most affected Black, Asian and minority communities by encouraging and promoting the take up of vaccines. We worked hard with key partners in setting up community neighbourhood clinics.
“We also worked closely with schools to provide essential food parcels to families on low income and to pensioners who are suffering due to the cost-of-living crisis.”
“We are not here to reinvent the wheel, but our main objective is to work in partnership with other voluntary and statutory agencies in developing community required projects that benefits diverse communities in Keighley.”
Concluding after a successful launch Trustee of ECA Fulzar Ahmed told Asian Standard: “We’ve shown during the pandemic that by working together with organisations and partners we are able to help deliver vital services to the local communities during incredibly difficult times. As we look towards the future, the work of our organisation together with others will bring effective and efficient services to meet the needs of our communities.”
“We could not have done this without the support of the community and all the partners involved. We are very grateful for everyone’s support, especially our sponsors Alexander Cousins Solicitors.
