Friends of the Sick to wind-down and transfer assets to Jewish Care

The trustees of a charity that provides home companionship and practical help to elderly, ill, or incapacitated members of the Jewish community is winding down and transferring its remaining assets to Jewish Care.

Founded in 1947, Hendon-based Friends of the Sick (Chevrat Bikkur Cholim), says it “no longer has the critical mass to continue operating independently” and operations will cease by the end of January 2027.

The charity has faced significant challenges in recent years, including increased regulations, particularly since the COVID pandemic.

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Transferring its remaining assets to Jewish Care, the leading health and social care charity for the Jewish community in London and the South-East, was considered the best option due to the two charities’ longstanding relationship, “shared values and compatible charitable purposes”.

Friends of the Sick has worked closely for many years with Jewish Care’s social work and community support Team, which provided the majority of client referrals.

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As the leading health and social care charity for the Jewish community in London and the South-East, Jewish Care has the established infrastructure, professional expertise and compassionate approach needed to support continuity for existing clients and future beneficiaries.

Friends of the Sick’s remaining assets will be ringfenced to support Jewish Care’s social work and community support team, helping to ensure that people have somewhere to turn when they need it most. Each year, the team supports nearly 3,000 clients, many at a point of crisis.

In a statement, the charities said: “With no government funding, the service depends entirely on voluntary income, making gifts such as that from Friends of the Sick essential to ensuring that such support can continue.”

Simon Sackman, President of Friends of the Sick, said: “It is always sad when an organisation that has served its community for almost 80 years closes. Bikkur Cholim was founded in 1947, before the creation of the NHS, and was for many years led by Dr Arnold Oppenheimer. Across eight decades it has supported the Jewish community in London in many ways: initially assisting women before and after childbirth, visiting patients in hospital and providing nursing care after discharge; and more recently visiting people who are sick, elderly or lonely in their own homes, offering companionship, emotional support and practical assistance.”

Expressing his gratitude to the “dedicated staff and generous donors” who have sustained the charity over the past nearly eight decades, he added: “The decision to close has been deeply difficult, but the trustees’ responsibility is to ensure that the charity’s objectives continue to be advanced in the most effective and sustainable way. We believe that the resources available to Jewish Care and the values it upholds will best enable those objectives to be achieved.”

Jewish Care chief executive Daniel Carmel-Brown said: “Friends of the Sick has served our community with extraordinary compassion over many years. We will work closely with its trustees to support an orderly transition and help ensure that every client is treated with dignity and care.”

Looking ahead,, he added that “this generous transfer will strengthen our social work and community support team’s ability to be there for people across our community when they need help most. We are honoured to carry forward the spirit and values of Friends of the Sick, ensuring that its legacy continues to benefit both existing clients and future generations.”