Jewish pupils see Red

School assemblies were a sea of red last week when local Jewish pupils participated in Manchester Jewish Federation’s annual Red Fed Day. On the day children and young people are encouraged to bring in £1 for The Fed and to come to school wearing something red. Marketing officer Joyce Khan explained that Fed staff attended school assemblies to tell children about the charity’s work.

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Avril Mills grants terminally ill children some magical wishes

Former actress Avril Mills has launched a charity to grant wishes for terminally ill children. The Dream Factory was set up by Miss Mills in memory of her son Oliver, who died from leukaemia in 1999, aged nine.

Founded earlier this year, the charity also grants wishes for young adults and people with severe disabilities.  This week, it launched its website: www.yourdreamfactory.org, to coincide with what would have been Oliver’s birthday. He would have turned 18 today.

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Hebrew U donors protest at charges

Donors have voiced concern at a British Friends of the Hebrew University policy of deducting administration charges from endowment funds. The policy is the subject of complaints made by a former trustee and reported by the Jewish Chronicle.

One prospective contributor, Deborah Pulvernis, of London, wrote in a letter to the JC: “My late great-aunt, father, and cousin, left substantial restricted endowments to BFHU, who gave them assurances at the time that 100 per cent of their monies would go to the university with no running costs deducted.

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Fury at a fundraiser for 'racist radio'

A charity event in South London next month to raise money for a Polish radio station widely regarded as antisemitic has sparked anger.

Staunchly religious Radio Maryja, which describes itself as a “Catholic voice in your home”, is Poland’s most popular radio station, attracting around a million listeners daily.

It was set up in 1991 by Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, 63, a priest often accused of being antisemitic. In 2005, he urged listeners to vote for the right-wing Law and Justice party.

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Volunteers get a big thank-you

As communal charities staged “thank-you” events for their armies of unpaid helpers to mark National Volunteers’ Week, Gordon Brown’s independent champion of volunteers, Baroness Neuberger, observed that Jewish charities “could not survive” without them.

“We see some superb practice in supporting, training, thanking and celebrating volunteers in the Jewish world,” she told the JC.

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String quartet entertains Lauderdale House

There was a sell-out audience at Lauderdale House for a performance by John Babbs and the Helikon String Quartet, with operatic contributions by Anna Koukoullis, organised by the North London NACC committee. The event realised over £1,000 towards research into Crohn’s and colitis and equipment for the Whittington Hospital.

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Pupils involved in Eastern Europe charity

Sixty year six Hertsmere Jewish Primary pupils are involved in a project backing World Jewish Relief’s Gifts in Kind programme, collecting clothes and stationery for distribution to children in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova.

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The mayor says Chai

New Barnet mayor Councillor John Marshall has chosen Chai Cancer Care as one of his mayoral charities.

Councillor Marshall said he had long been impressed by its work. “I remember the comments of a friend whose wife was dying, who said he wished they had discovered Chai earlier.”

Hoping that the recognition would enhance Chai’s profile, the mayor added that there was no financial target “as you can never raise enough for such a good cause”.

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Amnesty slates Israel and Palestinians in report

Both the Palestinians and Israel have been heavily criticised in a major report issued this week by Amnesty International to mark the 60th anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights.

Launching the report, the organisation’s secretary-general Irene Khan said it covered countries all over the world, but noted that in the Middle East the brunt seemed “to fall on civilians taking no part in conflict”.

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Ex-trustee turns on Friends of Hebrew U

A disaffected former trustee of the British Friends of the Hebrew University is calling for the Charity Commission to investigate its handling of millions of pounds worth of donor funds.

Geoffrey Simmonds, who resigned three years ago amid disagreements over the way the Friends was run, claims that the charity has been deducting money for management costs which should be going directly to the Jerusalem-based university.

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