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.
“Jewish Care is one example where volunteers are thanked and given a real sense of belonging to the organisation. Newer organisations are doing it differently, such as the virtually entirely volunteer-led Limmud, where the volunteers learn so much on the job and are wonderfully supportive to everyone who attends a session.”
Manchester Jewish Federation volunteers with chief executive Karen Phillips and other leaders
Among charities holding parties for volunteers was Norwood, where guests included Hani Baldot, 22, originally from Israel, who received an excellence award for 300 hours of assistance.