A shopping centre has chosen its charity partner for the year.

The Mall in Walthamstow has named Waltham Forest Community Hub as it's charity partner for 2019.

The charity, founded in 2005, provides and facilitates development and support services for the community and was nominated several times by shoppers.

Charity managing director Monwara Ali said: "Our charitable work is focused on supporting young people and the elderly and promoting community cohesion.

"We are absolutely delighted to be chosen as the Mall's Charity of The Year. This incredible honour will not only help to raise money to support the amazing work that we do but it will also raise our profile in the borough.

"At the same time it will enable us to demonstrate the importance of much-needed services for both young people and senior citizens within our community."

The charity runs activities including free and inclusive youth groups aged 11 to 19, offers one-to-one mentoring, operates a weekly seniors luncheon club with a choir and bingo for the elderly.

It delivers events such as the Walthamstow Village Festival, a St George's Day celebration and a Pensioners Christmas lunch.

The mall's marketing manager Richard Jones said: "Although principally a community hub catering for all ages and demographics, the work that the charity has been doing with local youths, in this current climate of gang-related crime, really resonated with me, both as a local resident and as a community marketing manager."

Waltham Forest Community Hub is replacing Forest Churches Emergency Night Shelter as the beneficiary of the shopping centre’s The Mall Cares charitable programme, which raises funds for community projects and local charities.

Last year, the shopping centre raised almost £1,000 for the shelter and oversaw a huge clothing collection benefitting hundreds of homeless people in the area.