Charity

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18 OCTOBER 2019

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Jewish News 18 October 2019

Charity / Magen David Adom

for 70 BLOOD SWEAT & TEARS Advertorial

MagenDavidAdomUK |

@mdauk_ |

@mdauk

years www.mdauk.org Registered Charity No. 1113409

This year is the 70th anniversary of Magen David Adom UK. Across the country we have been organising events and activities to mark this special occasion. For seven decades now, the UK Jewish community has shown incredible support for MDA - Israel’s only national medical emergency service. It is this generosity that enables our colleagues in Israel to provide outstanding lifesaving services.

There are now more ways than ever before to get involved and support Magen David Adom. This year we have run treks to Israel that raised over £250,000. In addition, we ran our second Legacy Mission in Israel.

The group were taken to various Magen David Adom UK projects and had the opportunity to meet key people and see the impact a legacy can make close-up. We have identified a need to increase the exposure for our legacy offering and our investment in this has already had its rewards. It is our intention to maintain this level of activity in to the next year as we look to further engage our audience with our legacy proposition.

This autumn we will be launching Israel360.

A new concept in fundraising challenge and

one that will take participants under the skin of Israel with exclusive access to people and places that you do not normally get the opportunity to meet or visit.

The National Blood & Logistics Centre in Ramla is in development and MDA UK continues to work with our American friends and the Israeli Government to ensure it is delivered on time and on budget. It continues to be a hugely successful major gifts proposition. The five-year project began in 2016 and will be completed by 2021. This is the biggest capital project that Magen David Adom has ever undertaken. Of the total project cost of £90m, MDA UK is committed to raising £10m. Thus far we have raised well over £3.5m and this has been exclusively through major donor canvassing.

In 2018 we marked ‘Israel 70’ with our ‘70-for-70’ motorbike campaign, where, incredibly the community’s generosity saw us provide seventy kitted out motorbikes to MDA in Israel. This year, to mark our own 70th anniversary, we have crowdfunded for a new ambulance station in Gan Yavne, one of Israel’s fastest growing towns. The total cost is £400,000 and we are well on our way to hitting yet another milestone.

The 70th anniversary provides the organisation with the opportunity to both look back but also, critically, look forward.

Amongst all the other plans we have in store, it is our intention to continue our growth in the regions. This has seen much staff time and resource spent recruiting lay leaders and volunteers in communities as far-reaching as Isle of Man and Northern Scotland through events and regional tours. The establishment of MDA Ireland is imminent and I have no doubt that these efforts will translate into support and improved fundraising. This is over and above the incredible efforts of our Christian Friends (CFMDA) who have, this year alone, already donated four medicycles.

As preparation continues for the upcoming 70th Anniversary Dinner (to be held in November of this year) we came across a series of old Magen David Adom UK photographs. It has been incredible looking back and seeing the support that we have received throughout the past 70 years from succeeding generations of donors. We encourage any donors or supporters, past and present, to send us any of their archive photos so that we can incorporate it in a special commemorative wall on the evening.

Magen David Adom UK, Winston House, 2 Dollis Park, London N3 1HF | T 020 8201 5900 | F 020 8201 5901 | E info@mdauk.org

Magen David Adom UK is just seventy years young. We are out and about, doing more than we have ever done before. So far, 2019 have been great and there are even more celebratory events to come.

Magen David Adom UK is committed to saving more lives in Israel. There has never been more people engaged or more opportunities to get involved. To find out more, please call 020 8201 5900.

for 70 years

18 October 2019 Jewish News

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Jewish Blind & Disabled / Charity

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

of Giving the Key to Independence Jewish Blind & Disabled chairman, John Joseph MBE, is justifiably proud of everything the organisation has achieved in the half century since the charity was founded in 1969 “WE HAVE GIVEN THOUSANDS of people from the age of 18 upwards, who have physical disabilities or impaired vision, a second life of security, dignity and choice.

In 1969, the late Cecil Rosen opened the first Jewish Blind & Disabled building of some 20 studio and one-bedroom apartments in south London, together with his right hand man, Malcolm Ozin MBE, who is still president of the charity to this very day.

Never in their wildest dreams would they have thought that, 50 years later, the charity would have 317 purpose-built one and twobedroom state-of-the-art mobility apartments across London, Essex and Hertfordshire. And thanks to our wonderful supporters, passionate volunteers and a dedicated professional team, the future is just as bright.

An ILA measures for a bath board

A Purim party at Cecil Rosen Court

These unique developments, with their 24/7 on-site support, are increasingly in demand, and Jewish Blind & Disabled is actively pursuing land to build more of these vital complexes. Each apartment is not only designed to help someone maintain their vital independence, and with this their dignity and sense of self-worth, but also to provide a beautiful environment in which to live.

Moving into a Jewish Blind & Disabled building is about far more than just moving into an apartment, however thoughtfully designed.

It is also about moving into a warm and welcoming community. Many of the people who live with Jewish Blind & Disabled were previously lonely and isolated as a result of their disability, struggling to cope in accommodation totally unsuitable to their needs, often finding a once loved home had become a virtual prison.

It is wonderful to hear how their lives have been transformed with a whole new social world opening up to them, including regular opportunities to socialise with friends and neighbours, either informally or at one of the many activities including celebrations of Shabbat and the Jewish festivals.

At the same time, Jewish Blind & Disabled is also aware that some people do want to continue to live in their current home in the community.

To help people in this position, and to assist those waiting for a suitable apartment to become available, the charity has recently launched its Independent Living Advisory (ILA) service – taking its unparalleled expertise to people struggling to cope in accommodation that is unsuitable to their needs. Not only do the ILA’s clients benefit from advice and expertise but, where recommended aids are not affordable, Jewish Blind & Disabled is

An apartment in Fairacres

even able to fund their purchase for the recipient to keep for as long as they are needed. This can range from something relatively small, such as a bath board, to larger and more expensive items, such as a riser recliner chair.

To date, Jewish Blind & Disabled’s ILA has visited more than 100 people in their own homes, from a young man in his twenties who is losing his sight, to a very independent lady of nearly 100 who was determined to stay in her ‘forever home’. The former benefited from the ILA’s knowledge of latest technological advances that could aid him in his everyday life whilst the latter was enabled to maintain her greatly prized independence with aids to help her with cooking and showering.

Speaking publicly for the first time, Lisa Wimborne, Jewish Blind & Disabled’s chief executive recently remarked: “Jewish Blind & Disabled is an organisation I have known about for some time, but Chief executive Lisa Wimborne I can honestly say that it wasn’t until I joined that I fully appreciated the impact of its As an independent charity that does not work and the fact that what it offers is unique in receive any government funding, Jewish Blind the Jewish community and beyond.

"I am in awe of our founder Cecil Rosen who, & Disabled is very grateful to all those whose support has allowed them to grow and flourish.

50 years ago, when attitudes towards disability were not what they are today, had the vision FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO to set up this charity. As we celebrate our www.jbd.org or call 020 8371 6611.

50th anniversary and recognise our achieveReg charity number 259480 ments, we are all the more committed to our ambitious plans for the future.

"As demand for our facilities continues to increase and our waiting lists grow, we are determined to continue to build our developments so that we can meet the needs of all those who have no other organisation to whom they can turn. But we can only do this with the support of the community, which is our backbone. Without this continued support, we wouldn’t be here today.”

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Jewish News 18 October 2019

Charity / British Emunah

Life's good for Orel, thanks to Emunah Sue Rifkin met aspiring actress Orel Nissan at this year’s British Emunah gala dinner and heard how the Israeli welfare charity has turned her life around

O

Photos by John Rifkin

rel Nissan is following her dream to become famous.

She has appeared in an El Al television advert and now has a place at Tel Aviv’s prestigious Yoram Lowenstein Drama School. She has credited the charity Emunah for putting her on the road to success following a challenging childhood.

Orel, who grew up in the Emunah children’s centre in Afula, addressed a 260-strong audience at the British

Emunah gala dinner in London last month, raising £250,000 for vulnerable children supported by the charity’s centres and services across Israel.

The dinner theme, Everyone Has a Story, was a chance to appeal for funds, as Orel, 23, bravely told the audience her own dramatic story.

“I am the third of 10 siblings who grew up in a northern Israeli town in a very small house,” she said. “Neither of my parents ever had a job and for a while, my father raised goats and

I helped him. I used to feed and milk them.

“We grew up without boundaries and sometimes my parents hurt us. Children should be able to take for granted that their homes are safe and warm and happy with food on the table, and that someone will care for them when they are sick and encourage them when they feel bad.

“Sometimes families have a hard time and are not what they should be, and children need help. My mother didn’t encourage me; she told me I was a failure."

Social services stepped in as the family struggled and Orel went to Emunah Afula at the age of 11.

“At first I was angry with everybody.

Why were people calling me a child at risk?

Why did I have to leave home?

“Slowly, I started to make friends at Emunah and at school. My teachers liked me (most of the time) and my grades went up…

“Emunah staff didn’t give up on me and cared about me. With their help, I learned I had talents and gifts and that I could succeed.”

After graduating from high school, where she majored in drama, Orel served as a combat medic in the Israel Defense Forces.

“As a proud Israeli, I wanted to make a difference, to do my duty,” she said.

There was loud applause as the audience heard of Orel’s joy at joining Israel’s most well-known theatre school whose graduates

include Ayelet Zurer, star of the TV series Shtisel. Orel now has a 13.8k Instagram following.

Orel added: “I am here to say thank you and to show that if you help Emunah, it can change lives.”

Earlier, guests were welcomed by dinner chair Michelle Plainer, who said: “Emunah exists to change the narrative for Israel’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and families. We need support to maintain our projects and services across Israel.”

She spoke of the Sarah Ronson Crisis and Intervention Centre in Sderot, where work to create a new, larger building is due to begin. There has been a sharp increase in the number of people, mostly under 18s, needing trauma therapy at the centre owing to the Gaza rocket attacks. The charity needs to raise a further £250,000 to complete the work.

Clown therapists, Rotem ‘Fruma’ Goldenberg and Shera ‘Shorty’ Friedlander gave lively presentations, while explaining the serious aspect of their work at Emunah children’s homes and centres. Their professional skills are helping children who have suffered greatly to open up about their lives.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis described Emunah’s work as “outstanding” and Jason Pearlman, a political communications consultant, gave an Israel update.

The evening closed with a vote of thanks

by Rosalyn Liss, chair of British Emunah.

In addition to residential children’s homes, nearly 200 Emunah projects in Israel include vocational high schools, day care, therapy, counselling and family support centres – of which 37 projects are supported

by British Emunah.

British Emunah would like to hear from individuals, shuls or schools wanting to get involved – please call 020 8203 6066 or email info@emunah.org.uk

Orel Nissan Registered Charity No. 215398

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Jewish Care / Charity

Jewish Care, serving our community Jewish Care is the largest health and social care charity serving the UK Jewish community in London and the South East. Every single week we touch the lives of over 10,000 people through our vital services.

community centres, ensuring that everyone we reached was able to spend time with others in a meaningful and engaging environment.

At Jewish Care, we continue to increase our range of services to meet the individual needs of our residents and community centre visitors. We aim to create meaningful personcentred experiences for all those involved in Jewish Care, including our meals-on-wheels recipients, families, carers, volunteers and staff.

Everything we do is underpinned by Jewish values and ethics. Throughout the year we welcome guests from our JC Families parties, school children, youth and volunteers of all ages to join our residents and community centre members to share celebrations on Shabbat and festivals. This creates a sense of connection and wellbeing for everyone involved.

Jewish Care’s Chief Executive, Daniel Carmel-Brown, says, “Jewish Care needs to raise over £16 million each year from the community just to ensure our current services can run. Beyond that, we are working to meet the future needs and aspirations of the community.

“All of the support we provide to the

Charity Reg No. 802559

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ur vision is of a society where people support and care about one another and are able to participate fully in their community. Our mission is to enable Jewish people to do this by delivering care and support that recognises and promotes Jewish values.

That’s why we provide care in a way that celebrates the religious, cultural, social and historical bonds that unite the Jewish people.

Respect for our clients’ Jewish identity – regardless of the level or nature of their religious observance – is at the heart of all that we do.

We offer help and advice through a wide range of residential, day care and outreach services. These include 11 care homes, nine community and day centres, five centres for people living with dementia as well as social work, support groups and a helpline, which received over 15,000 enquiries in the past 12 months.

More than 1000 people rely on Jewish Care community centres every year, with over 90% of those who visit them living alone. In the last twelve months, our care buses travelled 50,000 miles to get people to and from our

community, along with our aspirations for the year ahead, would simply not be possible without the generosity of our loyal supporters. They are all here for Jewish Care just as we are here for them, should they ever need us.

“In addition, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the thousands of wonderful volunteers who continue to support our fantastic workforce, all here to serve one community – our community.”

For more information about Jewish Care services, how to get donate, volunteer or get involved, visit www.jewishcare.org or call 020 8922 2000. For advice and support contact helpline@jcare.org or call 020 8922 2222.

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Jewish News 18 October 2019

Charity / Youth Aliyah

Stepping up for at risk children in Israel In Israel today, there are over 400,000 children who do not have a family that can care for them adequately and who are deemed ‘at risk’.

Youth Aliyah Child Rescue is stepping up for thousands of vulnerable young people every year – including immigrants and children of immigrants from Ethiopia, the former Soviet Union and elsewhere in the world – by providing a ladder of opportunity that enables them to climb from a life of poverty, neglect and violence, up towards a bright, successful future as contributing members of society living happy and fulfilling lives.

Rather than seeing them condemned to a lifetime of welfare dependency – perpetuating cycles of abuse and neglect – our organisation provides a warm and supportive home in one of our five youth villages, where children from as young as 5 years old can live together in safety. The villages are staffed by highly trained educators who dedicate themselves to building trusting relationships, providing structure and creating a ‘community of meaning’ within a nurturing environment.

Graduates of these youth villages experience higher than average employment rates, army leadership roles and matriculation rates.

The Village Way The ‘Village Way’ is a unique and groundbreaking methodology developed to provide an opportunity for children from the most challenging backgrounds to thrive and benefit from decades of expertise and success. Through a pioneering and individualised therapeutic and educational approach, staff and educators find the key to unlock each child’s potential, allowing them to heal from their traumatic pasts and break the cycle of poverty and neglect.

Youth Aliyah Child Rescue’s five youth villages are among 49 educational communities across Israel that have adopted the Village Way. By following the proven approach, schools outside of the village network are not only changing the lives of their students but also their wider community.

“Every year we’re enabling thousands of vulnerable young people to make the climb from survival to leadership” Youth Aliyah Child Rescue believe that every child, no matter where they come from, is entitled to the same opportunities to succeed whilst at school, in the army and after their army service.

In support of this belief, ‘Mechina’ programmes have been developed specifically for immigrants of deprived backgrounds with the aim of showing every student that they are capable of leadership in the IDF and later in life.

The future is rosé The Village Way provides a platform that empowers and engages children and young people in many different and often innovative ways. One of the newest and most ‘intoxicating’ projects to be developed over the coming years can be found at Aloney Yitzchak, a youth village located within the Aloney Yitzchak nature reserve in a semi-rural area south of Haifa.

Each year the farmland surrounding this environmentally conscious village generates an abundant harvest of organic Merlot grapes.

This year however, the village won’t be selling their harvest to local wineries and will instead be producing its very own wine. The new winemaking programme – seed funded by Youth Aliyah Child Rescue – will give the students at the village the opportunity to learn about every aspect of the winemaking process, from planting to pouring, under the guidance of regional wine maker Rami Bar-Maor.

This programme will make Aloney Yitzach the only organic winery in the area. After two years this will become a matriculation track recognised by the Ministry of Education, providing graduates with a highly marketable skillset in one of Israel’s fastest-growing industries.

The village is now seeking private funding for organic winemaking to help cover the cost of wine production and the ongoing training and supervision of the students on the viniculture track. Your support could help make the next twelve months a vintage year!

Please step up for the year ahead By 2021 Youth Aliyah Child Rescue aims to extend its reach to a total of 61 educational communities, giving 25,000 more at risk children the opportunity to thrive under the award-winning Village Way methodology.

The charity relies entirely on donations to fund its villages and programmes and can only achieve this target – and enable thousands of young people to make the climb from survival to leadership – with the generosity and support of its donors.

You can make a donation or find out more about future plans at youthaliyah.org.uk or by calling 020 8371 1580.

Charity No: 1077913

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Israel Guide Dog Centre / Charity

LIFE-CHANGING CONNECTIONS cannot happen without your help!

Martin Segal, UK Executive Director of the Israel Guide Dog Centre, tells us about the charity's plans for 2020 In 2020 we will launch a number of new initiatives to help us find the NIS12 million / £2.8 million we require each year to keep the organisation working.

These new initiatives include: • Name a puppy • Sponsor an IDF veteran • New ‘Friends’, ‘Guardians’ and ‘Patrons’ supporter levels • Joining our new ‘Independence Team’ and take part in a sporting challenge Of course, as well as these new ideas we need your continued support to provide the trained guide and service dogs for

AT THE ISRAEL GUIDE DOG CENTRE, we are constantly working towards the day when every blind, visually impaired and disabled Israeli can enjoy the safe mobility, independence, and self-confidence our lifechanging guide and service dogs provide.

We breed our exceptional dogs for specific traits, train them using cutting-edge techniques, teach them to respond to Hebrew commands, and prepare them for the distinctive characteristics of life in Israel.

Before the Israel Guide Dog Centre was founded in 1991, only Israelis who spoke English and had the means to secure a guide dog abroad could trade their mobility canes for canine companions.

Thanks to our generous donors here in the UK, and in the USA, Canada and Israel our new Breeding & Training Campus has now enabled us to produce more puppies and from their ranks more guide and service dogs for the 1,000s of people waiting for them today.

While only the best of the best dogs we raise will go on to become guide dogs, nearly every dog born at the Israel Guide Dog Centre will serve society at some level, often as emotional support dogs to children with special needs and veterans with PTSD.

our blind, visually-impaired and disabled clients. Next year we need to produce 40 new guide dogs and 35 new service dogs as well as replacing guide dogs due for retirement. 2020 is going to be busy!

HOWEVER, YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED, THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO GET INVOLVED! Thank you and I wish you and your family a happy and healthy Shana Tova.

The Israel Guide Dog Centre operates the only accredited guide dog programme in Israel serving the 24,000 strong blind and visually impaired community.

It is in fact the only programme of its kind in the Middle East today.

However, 94% of our operating budget has to come from charitable donations, and so the support you can provide is more important than ever.

UK registered charity no: 1027996

020 8090 3455 • info@bfigdcb.org • www.israelguidedog.org.uk

Here’s how you can help us REACH our TARGET for making this happen:

➥ Become a ‘Friend’, ‘Guardian’ or ‘Patron’ of the charity ➥ Take part in a sporting challenge to raise money for us ➥ Host a parlour meeting or dinner with friends and ask them to donate to the charity

➥ Become a volunteer or join our Board of Trustees ➥ Visit the Centre in Israel to see the amazing work we do