North London mother-of-two Melanie Klass has ended her long career in the media to become the first UK executive director of Israeli charity Hazon Yeshaya.
Founded in 1997 by businessman Abraham Israel, the organisation aims to reduce poverty in Israel by supporting the Hazon Yeshaya Soup Kitchens - a nationwide network serving thousands of hot meals every day.
It also provides medical services and vocational training courses to try to reverse the effects of poverty. The former managing director of advertising newspaper Loot, Mrs Klass tells People: "It is nice to be in the not-for-profit sector. Our main aim at the moment is to raise the profile of Hazon Yeshaya. Once people go to the soup kitchens and see the good work that they do, they are touched." Mrs Klass left Loot around 18 months ago having worked for Associated Newspapers for 20 years.
