Jewish Care’s annual Young Patrons Dinner saw over 380 attendees and raise over £110,000 to support Jewish Care’s services.

Guests attending the dinner, held Thursday at The Londoner Hotel, heard from Fiona Mendel, who shared her late mother’s experience of Jewish Care.

Fiona’s mother, Anne, was cared for at the charity’s Anita Dorfman House care home at Sandringham before passing away in December 2021 after her diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Addressing the crowd, she said: “[Jewish Care] cares about people. They care about us. Without Jewish Care my mum would have died alone in hospital.

“When I called their helpline they put me through to Amanda in their admissions team, she listened. She understood. She felt my pain as if it were her own. I told her about mum and how much she would love listening to my son play the piano to her each night since he was a young child. I knew instantly that Amanda wanted to help us.”

Fiona’s father, Tony, is now also being cared for at the Anita Dorfman House after suffering a stroke at another Jewish Care home, which the centre’s team “reacted quickly” to.

Fiona added, “We may know Jewish Care for its Holocaust Survivors’ Centre, community centres and care homes. But how many of us know they offer bereavement services for those who have recently lost loved ones and need someone to talk to?”

Nicole Ashton, Jewish Care's Young Patrons and YJC Committee Chair, welcomes guests (Credit: Grainge Photography)

Attendees on the evening were shown a short film which demonstrates the impact of Jewish Care’s work and the care the organisation provides.

Appealing to guests to give generously, Nicole Ashton, Chair of the Young Patrons Committee and Young Jewish Care Committee, said: “As our older Jewish community continues to age, health conditions, including dementia, continue to be more prevalent, the number of people experiencing mental health conditions continues to grow, and so too, does the increase in almost everything, from the price of food to electricity bills,

“This is having a huge impact on Jewish Care financially, which means that Jewish Care needs our support now more than ever.”

Attendees of Jewish Care's annual Young Patrons Dinner (Credit: Grainge Photography)

Speaking after the event, Ellisa Estrin, Jewish Care’s Director of Fundraising and Marketing, said it was “truly amazing to see a room full of hundreds of young people supporting Jewish Care and showing that they care about the older members of the community,

“Jewish Care needs to raise almost 17 million pounds this year to help keep services like our community centres, our centres for people living with dementia, bereavement services, social work and community support team and so many more, running. The Young Patrons Dinner will go some way to achieving that goal and we are grateful to our young supporters for their generous support.”