WINTER WARMERS AWARD

1. Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue

Since Mitzvah Day 2022, two members of Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue have been meeting up every few weeks with a Christian and a Sai lady to put together knitted squares for blankets for Ukrainians in need. In between times they all carry on knitting at home, keeping in touch by e-mail and sharing photos of progress and knitting tips. Another associate member of the synagogue has got a team from her church to knit squares too. The Ukrainian centre in Luton sends shipments out to Ukraine every month, including these blankets. The team hopes to continue knitting until the end of the winter.

2. Kingston Liberal Synagogue

Members of Kingston Liberal Synagogue spent weeks knitting, crocheting and repurposing old pillowcases as part of a project organised with the charity RBKares. In total, more than 250 Warmer in Winter packs were produced containing hot water bottles, knitted hats and scarves, blankets, tea bags, soups, torches, thermal gloves, and socks. These have now been handed out to families, pensioners, and vulnerable people – as well as to people supported by Refugee Action Kingston and Voices of Hope charities – to help them stay warm as they struggle with the rising cost of living and freezing temperatures.

3. Bushey United Synagogue

Bushey United Synagogue rose to the occasion and got on board with the Winter Warmers theme in 2022 by collecting and knitting squares for Goods for Good. Goods for Good offers global humanitarian aid by transporting donations to help communities in need.

4. Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR)

Members of the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR), including Holocaust survivors, and other volunteers knitted the squares to put together to make blankets for homeless people in Manchester, as temperatures around the UK plummeted to below zero. The blankets were distributed by the local homeless charity, Street Treats.

5. Queen Mary University JSOC

The students of the Queen Mary University JSOC donated and joined the Felix Project to assist them with packing up to 4,000 meals for families in need. The Felix Project helps to feed local communities in London by rescuing surplus food from the food industry and delivering it to over 900 frontline charities and schools.