Chai Cancer Care

Type of charity Cancer support  

What we do Chai Cancer Care is the Jewish community’s dedicated cancer support organisation, enabling patients, their families and friends to cope with the impact of a cancer diagnosis.

How many runners are you hoping to recruit? Over 100

Do you have an inspirational story from a previous Maccabi GB Community Fun Run / story for this year’s Maccabi GB Community Fun Run?

Marc Woolfson and son Jesse (age seven), ran together in 2018 and raised a fantastic £555 for Chai. They enjoyed it so much, they have decided to take part in the challenge again this year. Marc says: “We’re doing this to raise money and awareness for Chai, who were a great support to my Mum, Vivienne Woolfson and my family during her treatment and since her passing away last year.”
 

Myisrael

Type of charity Welfare

What we do Myisrael connects donors with 18 small charities in Israel which are transforming the lives of Israel’s most vulnerable. Without Myisrael, their remarkable work would remain virtually unknown in the UK.

How many runners are you hoping to recruit? 50

Do you have an inspirational story from a previous Maccabi GB Community Fun Run / story for this year’s Maccabi GB Community Fun Run?

When 13-year-old Gal Gazit decided to take on a fundraising project as part of his barmitzvah celebration, he didn’t make it easy on himself. He chose to complete the 1K, 5K and 10K races in the Maccabi Fun Run and raised money for one of Myisrael’s under-the-radar charities, Building Hope. Building Hope provides families in severe financial difficulty with urgent home repairs and empowers many of them to return to financial stability and independence. 

The money Gal raised enabled 42-year-old Avishag Gueta from Ashkelon and her young family to look to the future with dignity and hope. The apartment where Avishag lived with her husband and three children was severely run-down and required urgent repairs. Thanks to Gal’s efforts, Building Hope was able to get the flat into a liveable condition – fixing broken plumbing, replacing all the sinks, providing widespread mould treatment and removing an infestation of cockroaches.  

Avishag could scarcely believe the transformation when the family moved back in and she was so grateful to Gal for giving her children a safe and healthy place to live.  

Gal loved his Maccabi Fun Run experience and his barmitzvah felt even more meaningful, knowing his efforts had changed lives in Israel.

 

Malki Foundation

Type of charity Children

Sum up what you do The Malki Foundation’s mission is to empower the families of children with severe special needs in Israel to choose home care. We provide subsidies for paramedical therapies (physical, occupational, speech, water, and horse-riding) and long-term lending of assistive equipment.

How many runners are you hoping to recruit? 30 to 50

Do you have an inspirational story from a previous Maccabi GB Community Fun Run / story for this year’s Maccabi GB Community Fun Run? This is the first time the Malki Foundation has participated in the Maccabi Fun Run and we are looking forward to taking part and raising awareness for our Million Shekel appeal, to get 50 children off our waiting list and receiving the vital therapy they need to live an independent life.

Jewish Blind & Disabled

Type of charity Independent organisation transforming the lives of people age 18-plus who have physical disabilities or impaired vision. 

Sum up what you do This year we are celebrating 50 years as the only charity in the Jewish community enabling people age 18-plus, who have physical disabilities or impaired vision, to live independently with dignity and choice. This is achieved both through the provision of state-of-the-art mobility apartments with support on-site and on call 24/7, and through our new Independent Living Advisor, who  visits people living out in the wider community, advising on aids and adaptations that will allow them to continue to live in their family home.

How many runners are you hoping to recruit? 50 runners for 50 years, as 2019 is our 50th anniversary.

Do you have an inspirational story from a previous Maccabi GB Community Fun Run / story for this year’s Maccabi GB Community Fun Run?

Our tenants often take part, managing to walk or wheel their way around the course. One tenant in particular, Karen, wheeled around the 5K course with great difficulty in 2016. She persevered against all the odds and was very proud to receive her medal from the Fun Run and certificate from Jewish Blind & Disabled at the end. 

Nightingale Hammerson

Type of charity We are a leading provider of residential care for older members of London’s Jewish community, established for more than 170 years.

Sum up what you do Nightingale Hammerson is one of the oldest established Jewish caring charities, offering two special residential places to stay.  It is a leading specialist in person-centred care, within a stimulating and dignified environment where every person is treated as an individual.  It offers a home for life and Nightingale House is the only Jewish residential home with an Outstanding CQC rating.   

How many runners are you hoping to recruit? 10

Do you have an inspirational story from a previous Maccabi GB Community Fun Run / story for this year’s Maccabi GB Community Fun Run?

Girls from James Allen’s Girls School in Dulwich (Jags) ran in the Maccabi GB Community Fun Run in June 2016 in memory of their teacher, Vikki Askew, who was the head of sixth form. Vikki had passed away suddenly.

Vikki was instrumental in encouraging and supporting our young people to join us at Nightingale Hammerson. She encouraged them to work in the community and introduced them to Nightingale House, where they volunteered, befriending residents and showing incredible commitment to supporting them.

To show their appreciation, the girls decided to take part in the Maccabi GB Community Fun Run, to raise funds to plant a tree at Nightingale House, in Vicki’s memory.

Jnetics

Type of charity Medical, Jewish genetic disorders

Sum up what you do Some genetic disorders are more common among Jewish people and include conditions that can be fatal in childhood, lead to chronic disability and shorten lifespan. No cure exists for most of these disorders but great improvements are now possible in prevention and management. Jnetics raises awareness of Jewish genetic disorders and helps anyone affected and at risk to access the best information, services and support. 

How many runners are you hoping to recruit? We are looking to beat last year’s number of 73 runners and we are excited to be launching a GENEius team of university and school students who have been screened by Jnetics.

Do you have an inspirational story from a previous Maccabi GB Community Fun Run / story for this year’s Maccabi GB Community Fun Run?

A couple of years ago, Bianca and Gary Sakol came to the Maccabi GB Community Fun Run and this was where they first heard about Jnetics’ work. Katrina, our executive director, talked to them about being screened and after this, they discovered they were both carriers of the same fatal, degenerative condition. Thanks to this knowledge and being able to manage their risks of passing on the disease, Bianca gave birth to Theo, their healthy, cheeky little boy. If they had not known their risks, they could instead have been watching their child suffer from a horrendous disease, unable to walk or talk and unlikely to live past their teens. To celebrate the charity’s work, Bianca, Gary and one-year-old Theo completed the Fun Run last year in honour of Jnetics’ life-saving work.

This year, Lauren and Rickard Kayser will run for the charity. After Jnetics’ screening, they too found out they carry the same recessive Jewish genetic disorder but, thanks to the life-saving Jnetics service, they had the necessary knowledge to have their healthy daughter, Lia, as well as healthy new-born twins, Macy and Ruby. The whole family will participate in the Maccabi GB Community Fun Run this year, to celebrate their healthy children and how Jnetics helped make this possible.

Jnetics has also been busy carrying out GENEius screening sessions for students in schools and universities, so we are really excited to be creating a Fun Run team this year, for the first time ever, of students who have been screened by us. They will be running to raise funds for Jnetics, so we can help more students gain the necessary knowledge to manage their risks of passing on a Jewish genetic disorder in the future.