Sarah Wilks and Liz Shaw have known each other for more than 40 years, meeting when Sarah was the nursery teacher for Liz’s son and Liz was the youth group leader for Sarah’s children. They have both lived in Brighton and Hove for most of their lives, with a handful of detours to London and Israel.
In 2001, the pair set up Helping Hands, with a vision to provide just that to the local Jewish population. A quarter of a century on, they are a well-known and integral part of the Brighton & Hove Jewish community, with a pool of more than 70 volunteers, who support over 100 clients at any one time. Since its inception, Helping Hands volunteers have collectively responded to more than 20,000 requests.
1. What inspired you to set up Helping Hands back in 2001?
Sarah: I was very conscious of the Jewish support network within the community where I used to live, in Edgware, and I said that we needed something like that in Brighton & Hove – a cohesive organisation for support across the board.
Liz: A close mutual friend of ours suggested I partner with Sarah, and I agreed, and we haven’t looked back!
Sarah: There was also a third founder, another Liz, who sadly has since passed. We were all very different but gelled into this amazing team of women.
2. How do your volunteers support the local community?
Sarah: It’s a very wide range of things – anything from befriending, driving, a monthly soup run, meals in emergencies, teas for isolated members of the community, hospital visits, bereavement support, student hospitality, basic DIY. We had a volunteer who repaired somebody’s sink recently. We don’t do financial or medical things though, or any lifting or cleaning tasks.
Liz: The volunteers who do the driving and the befriending build up such an amazing rapport with the clients, and we try to keep the same volunteers with the same clients so they build strong relationships. And we have a great range of volunteers – our oldest is in his nineties and our youngsters are doing their Duke of Edinburgh award.
3. How does it feel to celebrate 25 years of this thriving organisation?
Sarah: It’s slightly nuts, a little bit surreal. When I look back on it objectively and think of the thousands upon thousands whom we’ve helped and the relationships formed between volunteers and clients, it gives us a real sense of achievement.
Liz: It doesn’t feel like 25 years though. It’s amazing. We need to keep pinching ourselves. It’s been so long that some of our clients nowadays were our volunteers at the start.
4. What do you love most about running Helping Hands? Where do you most see the impact in the community?
Liz: The appreciation that we get back. For instance, coming up to a tea, there’s so much to get done, and we get it done. At the end of it, we’re exhausted, but everyone comes out saying how wonderful it was for them to be there and socialise, and that means a lot.
Sarah: I’ve learnt how much our volunteers benefit as well as the clients, and I’ve also learnt not to be judgmental about anyone – you find out so many stories about people who are vulnerable or socially isolated.
5. How can people get involved with the organisation, and why should they?
Sarah: To volunteer, people can get in touch with us through Instagram, Facebook, email, phone, or our website. I think it’s important that people can appreciate they don’t have to give a huge chunk of their life – even an hour a month is good; a little means a lot. We always try to think out the box and create a volunteering opportunity if someone comes forward.
Liz: In terms of who we help, there are often people who think: “I don’t want to speak to Helping Hands because I’m not old,” but we’re not just here for old people; we’re here for anyone in the community. We’re here to help, and we want people to approach us with any problem they have that we can help with. Our strapline is: “We’re here for the community and by the community.”
To find out more about Helping Hands, go to: helping-hands.org or click here.
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