20 minute read
Features
Chunkydory Jewellery
BY MICAELA BLITZ
Dani Wiseman has always loved fashion. From a young age, she enjoyed customising her clothes and would often take apart pieces of jewellery and add beads to create her own unique pieces. After completing a fashion marketing degree at Huddersfield University, she was all set for a marketing career, but after a job interview with a big London agency, she decided it was the perfect opportunity to turn her passion into a business.
“When I left the interview, it made me realise that marketing was not where my heart was, and that I wanted to follow my real love of fashion and jewellery, so I decided to set up my own business and Chunkydory Jewellery was born. I think that if it had not been for that interview, I may never have taken the plunge!”
That was more than 28 years ago, and throughout her career, Dani has used her marketing skills to help promote her business. Her first magazine shoot was for Vogue, which was an impressive start, and since then she has been featured in many magazines and on television programmes too.
She started off by selling her own designs at parties, festivals and charity events and even managed to get her stuff into some shops. Dani would also regularly visit large offices, where she would set up a stand so that employees could come and buy in their lunch hour.
Since Covid, a lot of this has not been possible, so she has been developing her new website, www.chunkydory.net, as a way to showcase her products to a wider audience. Chunkydory Jewellery offers customers a wide range of ‘funky, fabulous and affordable jewellery’ such as bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and rings. Dani updates the website regularly with new and interesting pieces like her personalised sterling silver name necklaces which are very popular for batmitzvah and birthday gifts.
As well as selling jewellery through her website, Facebook and Instagram, Dani runs private jewellery parties where she comes to people’s houses and gardens and sets up her collection. The ‘hostess’ of each party receives 10% commission to spend on jewellery on the day. These ‘hostesses’ then get friends and family together for a fun evening where people can try the jewellery and find something that they love. For Dani, these parties have always been a very successful part of her business, but since Covid she has had to find different methods to continue with these. “Finding another way to hold the house parties was a bit of a challenge during lockdown, but we were able to adapt to it by holding the parties virtually. Friends could get together via Zoom or What’sApp, and everyone could join in from the comfort of their own homes whilst keeping to social distancing rules. They worked really well and were very popular and are continuing even now.”
Dani is always happy to speak to people who might be interested in organising a party especially with the imminent restrictions being lifted. Hosting a party is a great way to bring your friends together for a fun evening, and shop in the convenience of your own home.
Earlier this year, when restrictions started to be lifted, Dani held her first garden party at her home under her trusty purple gazebo. Over a period of five hours, groups of up to 6 guests could come to her home within an allotted hour time slot and see all the products on display. It was a great success, and everyone that attended really enjoyed it. Dani has now started doing her public events again and is regularly selling her Chunkydory Jewellery across North London and Hertfordshire.
Dani will also be taking her purple gazebo to other gardens so that she can bring her products to other groups of friends and families.
Dani Wiseman
Bookings for both house and garden parties can be made from 19th July by contacting Dani on 07866 627170 or emailing dani@chunkydory.net
To find out more about the products available - visit www.chunkydory.net
If you are a businesswoman and would like to tell us more about your business, please contact Micaela micaela@thejewishweekly.com
Kisharon set for new fundraising events
BY DAVID SAFFER
Kisharon is approaching the end of COVID-19 restrictions announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson with caution.
But fundraising activities are going to be innovative and exciting in the post pandemic world.
Founded in 1976, Kisharon provides education for children with learning disabilities. The charity offers opportunity and support, as well as education. Individuals are taught the skills they need to live independently within the community and to lead fulfilling lives.
Throughout the pandemic dedicated staff offered front-line services at an unprecedented time. The Tuffkid Nursery, Wohl Campus, Kisharon Noe School and Kisharon Further Education College all operated. Kisharon centres were among the first to reopen following the initial lockdown for day opportunities but caution is now the watchword.
Fundraising was a challenge but Kisharon came through and are looking forward with optimism.
“We are not going back to what we were doing, pre-COVID-19 fundraising is not what we are looking at any more,” said fundraising manager, Jessica Levy. “It’s how we build on what we have done and take it to that next step. We’ve been very lucky that we have reached our target this year and last year, so our services have been able to remain open.
“In terms of moving forward, we are excited about bringing back some events, “In terms of moving forward, we are excited about bringing back some events, face to face activities and building on the challenges because people want to get out and do new, exciting things. We are definitely looking at building the challenge side of events.
Jessica Levy, Kisharon Acting Director of Fundraising face to face activities and building on the challenges because people want to get out and do new, exciting things. We are definitely looking at building the challenge side of events.
“Our large events, networking events we are looking to bring back will be in a way that fits society. Everything we do must be enticing and exciting. We won’t go back to the same formulaic style events that happened for many years even though they were successful and worked. We’ve proved that we can do fundraising without being face to face, now let’s show how we can do it with and without being face to face, by offering ‘out of this world’ events that people feel they have to attend.”
Beverley Kaye added, “Our donors are our customers. The key thing is, whereas most retail will survive because they turned themselves around online, fundraising has to think smarter, think further and think much more what our donors want instead of thinking you can get away with a dinner once a year. We are going to be more discerning, more outward thinking.”
Kisharon are moving forward in the
‘Kisharon Tuffkid Nursery’ supports mainstream and SEND children. https://www.kisharon.org.uk/education/ tuffkid-nursery/
‘Wohl Campus, Kisharon Noe School’ caters for students with special educational needs aged 4 to 19. https://www.kisharonschool.org.uk/
‘Kisharon Further Education College’ allows students to develop skills and become independent. https://www.kisharon.org.uk/education/ kisharon-college/
‘Kisharon Supported Living’ instils confidence in adults to live independently. https://www.kisharon.org.uk/our-services/ support/adult-supported-living/
‘Kisharon Day Opportunities’ through day centres offer person-centered prospects with a focus on life skills. https://www.kisharon.org.uk/our-services/ opportunity/
‘Kisharon Social Enterprise’ operates businesses within the community including Kisharon Design & Print, Kisharon Gift & Homeware Store, Equal, Childs Hill Library, Kisharon Bike Shop and Skills for Employment Centre. Individuals learn skills, income is reinvested into the charity. https://www.kisharon.org.uk/ social-enterprise/
Kisharon: 0203 2091160 or www.kisharon.org.uk
Chaim Dovid and Srulik who are supported by Kisharon together with Key Worker Sunny and Volunteer Lisa Silverbeck all took part in the Kisharon London Bridge Challenge
post-COVID-19 world and one area of future fundraising is the world of art.
Jessica explained, “We held an art event a few years ago when we partnered with a number of artists who developed some incredible pieces of artwork with people that we support. At an auction we sold off the artwork. This event has so much potential and we are hoping it will be three times bigger than before.”
She continued. “There is a real purpose to this type of event, it feeds into our core purpose but is an exciting event to engage with Kisharon and also network at a nice venue with a reception. Some pieces will be auctioned, some sold, and it will be ticketed. Artwork previously produced has been stunning. We believe an event like this our donors will want to attend. They can network then put pieces up in their homes.”
Beverley added, “It’s a lifestyle pitch and the cute thing is we will get wellknown sculptors to work with people that we support.”
Jessica confirmed that Kisharon would do another matched funding campaign after previous successes.
“It has proved to be a high return of investment,” she said. “They have been incredibly successful.
People like it for a number of reasons. You are doubling your money and we can involve more people. It really reaches out to more people that don’t feel they can necessarily contribute in other ways. It’s also a great opportunity for us to communicate with donors in a positive way. What we will see next year is a number of events in the build-up. And an exciting part is taking what we have learnt in the past 18 months and building on it.”
From a challenge perspective, Jessica noted that people had done the London Marathon and Royal Parks events but Kisharon is seeing an increased appetite for cycling events.
“We are looking to develop a Kisharon cycling event but also buying into third party ones,” she said. “It’s an area we want to develop, it’s more long term but we are excited. It’s essential to match services with donors and build relationships.”
Kisharon have many loyal donors but like many charities they want to engage more with the late 20s and early 30-year-olds.
“This has to be an area of growth but it’s a tricky one,” Jessica said. “From a fundraising perspective this demographic is not always the audience with the most disposable income. They are starting families, buying first and second properties, which makes perfect sense. On the flipside, this age group is the future so it’s how we engage them with Kisharon so when they have more disposable funds, we are a charity of choice. We are building a committee and people have been involved in the past, children of trustees and donors who have a connection. We are developing a relationship and finding events they may like to attend such as high-end wine tasting. It’s not an immediate fundraising solution but one certainly for the future.”
Beverley added, “Particularly with this age group it’s about being more discerning. For too long charities have thought, this will be a good idea let’s do it, but that won’t cut anymore. We have to get in the mindset of what a donor wants, how can I deliver it.”
Times have changed in society in many ways but Kisharon is forward thinking and ready to take the next steps to keep moving forward to support its many clients.
JCD gears up for 2022 Heritage year
BY DAVID SAFFER
Jewish Child’s Day celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2022.
The charity was founded in 1947 by Arieh Handler and Dr Israel Feldman to help aid the rehabilitation of the Jewish children from Eastern Europe after the Holocaust. Their philosophy behind the inspiration was to fully involve children of the UK in raising money for less fortunate brothers and sisters around the world on the first Sunday of Chanukah.
The first JCD was held on the 14th December 1947 and was a resounding success, raising £14,000, a tremendous amount of money at that time.
Through the decades, the charity has evolved, from a once-a-year collection to a year-round fundraising necessity. But the charity’s philosophy has never wavered, to instil in Jewish youngsters a sense of responsibility for the care of Jewish children who are less fortunate than themselves and to actively involve them in raising the funds which can bring dreams to reality.
A JCD collection box then ‘blue egg’ collection box has been iconic symbols in a Jewish home for generations of Jewish children. Seven plus decades on the charity has not lost sight of its guiding principles.
JCD supports around 19,000 children annually, by allocating grants of approximately £500,000 to around 130 different projects in the UK, Israel and smaller Jewish communities around the world, those who are challenged by physical, learning or emotional difficulties, children who have been abused, or neglected and who don’t have a safe and secure family or home, and those who are battling against severe illness or trauma.
From its modest beginnings, JCD has helped over half a million Jewish children in need.
Through grant funding JCD provides medical, educational, therapeutic and humanitarian aid, respite care, protection, and poverty relief to children in need, worldwide.
JCD believes that “no child should live in poverty, need or suffering anywhere.
This week the UK finally came out of COVID-19 restrictions and like many Jewish charities the past 18 months for JCD has been challenging. The pandemic has resulted in new working protocols and those closely associated with the charity are ready to drive the organisation forward.
Anthea Jackson, Chief Executive, joined the charity at the end of 2019, just months before the pandemic hit.
“The impact of COVID-19 was immediate,” she recalled. “Many of the projects we supported had to close or temporarily put a halt to their services. However, the need to support the most vulnerable further did not go away, £53K was immediately given to Israel projects supporting emergency services, which included an ambulance, whilst around £25K was given to schools and projects here in the UK to assist with services including PPE, food parcels and school meal vouchers.”
“It was important to keep the awareness of what we do in the forefront,” Anthea added. “We let projects know that we were here. We made sure that organisations we are supporting were safe. There were vulnerable children with special needs in difficult circumstances, there was a call to action and we were able to support the projects.”
JCD’s seven-strong team continued to work throughout the pandemic.
“We were very fortunate that we could all work from home but had to change our way of thinking,” recalled Anthea. “We could not hold live events but decided to continue our postal appeals. We hold four ‘old fashioned’ postal appeals a year. Our 2020 Pesach appeal was just as we went into the pandemic. Children needed help right on our doorstep. It was essential to provide medical equipment that we could transport to families. We have loyal donors who like a ‘hard’ appeal through the post. The narrative was very strong because COVID-19 was happening around us, we exceeded our budget.”
JCD worked on a plethora of initiatives including with PJ Library who post free
JCD’s Head of Income Generation, Russell Brody
books to 8,000 children in the UK.
“We had to improvise,” recalled Anthea. “We wanted to get our name known by a younger audience, to breath new oxygen into the charity. Books were sent out by PJ Library with a height chart we designed about being kind and respectful. The collaboration was an incredible success. We also teamed up Rachel Riley who did an interview with an author Ben Freeman and a local actress did interactive Zoom storytelling which was really popular.”
As the world comes out of lockdown, JCD must find new ways to operate and continue to support children across the world.
“Wherever there are Jewish children who are orphaned, sick, deprived or disabled, JCD will be there to provide support which we hope in some way, will improve the quality of their lives,” noted Anthea.
“We have such a rich heritage with tremendous loyalty to our charity 75 years on, but with so many long-standing charities, we need to find ways of breathing new oxygen and expanding our demographic as we head into our milestone year and we also must encourage future generations to understand the value and importance of Tzedakah.
“We have fantastic loyalty, but we have to be sustainable and have longevity.”
A new role for the charity has been created, as JCD heads into its landmark year.
Head of Income Generation, Russell Brody joins the team at the end of this month.
He said, “In our ‘heritage year’ I look forward to working with the team and building on the relationships they have developed with our donors and introducing more exceptional projects to them so that together we can fulfil our mission statement that no child should live in poverty, need or suffering anywhere.”
JCD has exciting plans to share in the coming months. Plans are underway to scope out and to award life-changing, long-standing grants which will help generations to come.
“We must create strong links between our donors and our grant recipients, so by awarding heritage grants, we aim to both strengthen our mission and build on our narrative and long-standing relationships with the projects we support, to ensure we can have the most impact on the neediest of children,” said Anthea.
Amongst many JCD projects in the UK, The Boy’s Clubhouse helps teenagers at risk of social or family exclusion from the Jewish community whilst Arts Therapies for Children (ATFC) sends therapists into Jewish primary schools to support children with behavioural or emotional difficulties. Noa provides a caring, non-judgemental environment for adolescent girls to empower and help build self-esteem.
In Israel, Simcha Layeled improves the quality of life for thousands of disabled and seriously ill children in hospitals and rehabilitation centres. Ohr Meir & Bracha gives immediate assistance whenever possible to meet the needs of victims of terror and their families.
Elsewhere in the world, Mazal Tov in Belarus enables children to play and learn about their Jewish heritage. Kindergarten areas double as a physiotherapy unit for children with special needs.
The Scheiber Sandor Jewish School in Hungary educates pupils in a Jewish way of life. Students visit Auschwitz and attend Holocaust memorial services. They also protect Hungary’s Jewish cemeteries.
Tzedaka Foundation improves living conditions for thousands of vulnerable, at-risk Argentineans. 2022 is going to be a milestone year for this very special charity that has been around for decades benefiting generations of Jewish children globally.
Sacks Morasha
BY MICAELA BLITZ
With many schools across the country breaking up for the summer this week, many teachers have been reflecting on the challenges and achievements not only the past school year, but throughout the pandemic.
For Justin Kett, Head of Kodesh and Deputy Head at Sacks Morasha Primary School in North Finchley, those past 18 months have meant adopting new ways of doing things, but he feels that at every point along the way, the school has taken a ‘can-do attitude’ to the situation.
“There have been so many changes to the way that we work, whether it was home schooling, periods of isolation for pupils and staff, creating teaching bubbles or adhering to social distancing, but we have remained positive and always found the best way to deal with the situation without too much upheaval for the children.”
It is this focus on the pupils and their wellbeing that is at the heart of everything that the school does, and this is something that has become even more relevant due the current situation. Pupils have all been affected in some way by these changes and for those with higher levels of anxiety this
Learning to work as team
has been a particularly challenging time. This is something that Justin and the rest of the staff are always on the look out for in their classes and the school has created a
Justin Kett, Head of Kodesh and Deputy Head
Brackmans wishes The Jewish Weekly a yeshar koach on its 200th Edition!
Wellbeing Room for those needing additional help and support during school.
“One of the main strengths of the school is that we know our children very well on an individual level, so we are able to see when they might be struggling and help them where we can. There is no such thing as an ‘invisible child’ at the school.”
Many activities were unfortunately not possible due to restrictions, but the school has found new and exciting ways to still help the children learn. During the summer term, regular ‘Magic Mondays’ and ‘Wacky Wednesdays’ gave students the chance to take place in fun activities from puzzle workshops with the Happy Puzzle Company to Lego building sessions. The end of year play, ‘The X Factory’ also had to be done differently. The play was performed by students without an audience and was instead recorded and distributed to family to watch.
As a response to the situation, the school’s annual ‘Morasha Cares Week’, traditionally a project for Year 6 Students, was extended to the whole student body this year. The
Year 4 making posters about the Yoni Jesner Foundation
programme which took place in June, raises awareness and money for different charities, whilst also encouraging pupils to give back to the wider community.
“Morasha Cares Week is a great opportunity for our students to be more outward facing, and we felt that this year, it was more important than ever to connect to the wider community and help others who might be struggling in some way.”
Each class chose a charity to raise awareness and money for. Throughout the week, pupils did various activities from car washing, song writing, and holding a bake sale to raise money. Charities that were supported by the project included Camp Simcha, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The British Heart Foundation, The Yoni Jesner Foundation, Rays of Sunshine, Young Minds and Warming the Streets. The school also collected food for the North London Food Bank.
Whilst the past year has been ‘relentless’, Justin is focussing on the new term in September and the possibilities that it presents. The introduction of new smartboards and I-pads for students will mean that more pupils will benefit from digital learning, something that the children respond to very well. These purchases were possible due to the fundraising efforts of the PTA over the past couple of years, as well as due to the support of the school Trust.
He also hopes that the summer holidays will give staff and students the chance to relax and take stock on the past term and what they have achieved in the face of adversity.
“All of the children at the school never cease to amaze me, and I have been impressed with how resilient and positive they have been in dealing with such an unusual situation. The staff have been amazing and worked so hard to accommodate changes throughout. I am really proud of all of them and looking forward to starting a new term in September when hopefully things will start feeling a bit more like they used to be!”
