News

Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan volunteers at The Hornbeam

Legendary snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan volunteered at The Hornbeam Centre and The Gleaners Community Café on Christmas Day. Ronnie, 45, who lives just […]By Waltham Forest Echo

Legendary snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan volunteered at The Hornbeam Centre and The Gleaners Community Café on Christmas Day.

Ronnie, 45, who lives just outside of Waltham Forest, reached out to both organisations in order to play his part in providing hot meals and grocery bags to residents in need.

“He was really enthusiastic, keen to help out,” Colin Read, a volunteer for The Gleaners, told the Echo. “He quietly got on with a number of jobs, including washing up and delivering meals out in the community.”

While Ronnie said of his experience: ”I really enjoyed the day doing my bit for a great cause. So many people are grateful for what the volunteers are doing here. The food is tasty and it’s great to put a smile on people’s faces and to help where possible.”

Meals are cooked daily by a team of volunteers with quality ingredients donated locally, from places such as Today Bread on Hoe Street, The Felix Project, City Harvest and OrganicLea in Chingford.

Since March 2020, The Gleaners Community Café has served over 30,000 meals, mostly for free, across Waltham Forest.

Images by David Latto

To find out how you can volunteer, visit The Hornbeam and The Gleaners


No news is bad news 

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts. 

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less. 

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation. 

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit 

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month.  £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.

Donate now with Pay Pal

More information on supporting us monthly or annually 

More Information about donations

623 Comments

Click here to post a comment

Our newspaper and website are made possible by the support of readers and by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider helping us to continue to bring you news by disabling your ad blocker or supporting us with a small regular payment.