‘Strictly’ star Ellie Goldstein takes to Norwood stage - The Jewish Chronicle

Fresh from the Strictly dancefloor, model, activist and Norwood alumna Ellie Goldstein made a surprise appearance at a special dinner to launch Norwood’s new-look annual appeal, setting the tone for a bold year of fundraising and awareness-raising.

Ellie took to the stage at the first of two bespoke events, a dinner for 400 of Norwood’s most loyal supporters at the Chancery Rosewood Hotel. Joined by current attendees of Unity – Norwood’s short breaks and recreational service – Hannah and Rafi, she introduced a powerful film showing how integrated music and movement sessions build communication skills and confidence for children and young people with profound learning disabilities.

Ellie Goldstein and a friend Hannah from Norwood on stage at the Norwood dinner (Photo: Blake Ezra)(C) Blake Ezra Photography 2025 Not to be reproduced without written permission.

Together, the streamlined dinner and a more intimate lunch held later on raised £2 million, thanks to the generosity of Norwood’s donors and the sponsorship of the Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation.

The events were designed to engage supporters in a more focused and personal way, according to Norwood Chair Miles Webber. He said the learning disabilities support organisation – which is the UK’s oldest Jewish charity – is “prepared to do things differently, a different venue, with a smaller, carefully selected guest list”. Webber called on “each and every one” of the guests “to stand with us like never before” and increase the amount they contributed to help fund Norwood’s vital services, which receive no government funding and are not readily available elsewhere.

Ellie Goldstein and other guests at the Norwood dinner (Photo: Blake Ezra)(C) Blake Ezra Photography 2025 Not to be reproduced without written permission.

Much of that unfunded provision supporting children includes coaching, advocacy, therapy, peer support groups and short breaks to support the needs of the whole family.

Introducing the evening’s appeal, Abbi Taylor, a Norwood beneficiary and mother of three neurodivergent children, spoke candidly about the challenges her family faced and the difference Norwood had made.

Invoking the appeal’s theme of “See Beyond” – an invitation to look past labels and discover new ways of understanding learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence – Abbi said that “some people who might witness one of our kids’ meltdowns… might just see our children’s challenges as ‘bad behaviour’”.

Abbi Taylor, who delivered the appeal speech at the dinner, with her family (Photo: Blake Ezra)(C) Blake Ezra Photography 2025 Not to be reproduced without written permission.

But thanks to the parenting, autism and sibling support groups Norwood had provided, she said the family was thankfully “in a much better place than we were – or would have been without Norwood”.

She added: “Although parenting three neurodivergent children is hard and unpredictable, we’re calmer and better equipped with tools to cope, which has improved things for the whole family.”

The second event, a lunch at Tony Page Marylebone, explored the appeal theme in greater depth.

“We all know the five basic senses – sound, smell, taste, touch and sight – but for many autistic and neurodiverse people, those senses don’t feel ‘basic’ at all,” said Norwood’s chief executive, Naomi Dickson. “Imagine walking into a room where every sound feels like a shout, every flicker of light a spotlight, and every texture feels abrasive,” she added, alluding to the common neurodivergent experience of sensory overload.

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Speaking to Norwood supporters, Baroness Luciana Berger reflected on her lifelong connection to the charity, which began when she was a teenage volunteer helping to establish the Young Norwood professional committee. She praised Norwood’s whole-family approach and its recognition of the vital role grandparents played in family life.

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Topics:

Norwood

Ellie Goldstein

Fundraising