A charity that began as a 12-person committee nine years ago now has almost 140 members.

Casa dos Açores da Bermuda, which promotes Azorean history and culture on the island, celebrated its ninth anniversary on March 10.

Many people — including Rena Lalgie, the Governor, Opposition Leader Jarion Richardson, Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, and MP Jache Adams — attended the celebration at the organisation’s headquarters on North Shore Road.

The government-owned building, which can hold almost 100 people and features a kitchen, bar and library, is quite different from where the charity first used to meet — inside a garage.

Organisation president Lucia Botelho said: “We had to rent a hall so we could do our fundraising.

“We have been using this building since 2019. It was really rundown when we got it, but we have been raising money for the renovations one malasada at a time.”

Ms Botelho hopes to raise more funds to complete the bar and add storage space in the building.

The charity will sell malasadas and other food at next month’s Agricultural Exhibition, enter a float in the Bermuda Day Parade and host a “fish night” in June.

It is partnering with the Vasco da Gama Club and the Honorary Consul of Portugal in Bermuda to mark 175 years since the Portuguese arrived on the island.

A series of events and a special public holiday marked the 170th anniversary in 2019.

Ms Botelho said the celebrations will happen “in June and again around the fourth of November, when the actual date is”.

Membership for the organisation is $150 for families with children under the age of 12, $100 for students and $50 for seniors.

• To learn more about or donate to the charity, visit bdacasaacores.com