Pupils raise staggering £38k to help with Islamic centre renovations

Pupils from the Dawat-e-Islami Education Centre based on the corner of Granville Road and Leamington Road, have also challenged themselves to reach £40,000 in the coming weeks.

The 75 pupils and their parents had initially set a target of £8,000, with each child asked to raise £100, but soon it soon became clear the children were going to surpass that figure quite easily.

A spokesperson for the centre said: “We’re very proud of our children and they have shown that with the right support, they can achieve great things, and this is exactly what we aim to achieve at our education centre.

“Recently, the children climbed Pendle Hill to help raise money for the renovations. It was a wonderful effort by the young fundraisers and we are thankful for their efforts."

The Islamic centre, which was a former church, is presently at full capacity and the expansion will mean 300 children will be able to study for free and be taught by qualified teachers.

The children have been taking part in a series of fundraising challenges and treks to support renovations at the historic building which was built on land used by Blackburn Rovers in the 19th century

The Dawat-e-Islami acquired the building following the closure of the Leamington Road Baptist Church in 2014.

The decision to sell the building, which opened in 1895, was due in a large part to spiralling maintenance and repair costs.

Since taking over the site the charitable group has looked to renovate the historic building and give it a new lease of life to serve the local community.