Jewish Care raises £5.2million at annual dinner

Around 900 guests attended Jewish Care’s annual dinner at Grosvenor House, raising more than £5 million for the charity that provides support to older people across the community.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was guest of honour and in his first address to the Jewish community at an event, spoke of the pivotal role that social care providers like Jewish Care play every day.

Attendees heard the stories of some of the charity’s clients including Leon Lixenberg, who is living at Jewish Care’s Sam Beckman Centre for people living with dementia and Fiona Mendel, whose late mother, Anne, was cared for at Jewish Care’s Anita Dorfman House at Sandringham until she sadly passed away in December 2021.

The evening ended with a performance from award winning artist, Craig David, who last week paid a special visit to Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre to meet with members and hear their stories.

Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, said: “This is my first Jewish community dinner as Prime Minister and having heard so much about this incredible organisation, I’m absolutely delighted that I’m here with you at Jewish Care because your culture of service represents not just the best of our Jewish community, but the very best of Britain.”

Lord Levy, Jewish Care’s Life President, said: “I want to thank our clients, volunteers, staff and lay leaders from the bottom of my heart for all that they do for people like Leon, Michael, Fiona, Anne and Tony. They have demonstrated just how valuable our services are, not only during times of crisis, but during our regular days.

“When we work together as a community, so much can be accomplished, and Jewish Care is a testament to that. We care for all those in our community who need our help, and we are truly one family. That is because our supporters have helped to create this very special charity, and for that, we are truly grateful.”

Dame Gail Ronson, Jewish Care’s Honorary President and Annual Dinner Chair, said:“This year marks 40 years of my involvement with Jewish Care and its predecessor the Jewish Welfare Board. I am immensely proud that I and my family continue with our support and involvement with Jewish Care, which after many years is still close to my heart, and it is for that reason that I am honoured to mark this anniversary as the Dinner Chair.”

Jonathan Zenios, Chair, Jewish Care said: “We are deeply grateful to our supporters for their generosity in giving £5.2 million to support Jewish Care’s vital services across the community and in our day centres and care homes. To have raised £5.2 million is a magnificent success, and a great start to our campaign year, where we will need to raise a total of £17 million to provide all the services on which the community relies. Huge thanks for making the evening so memorable go to our guest of honour, Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP and to Craig David for generously donating his time to entertain us.”

In attending the event, the Prime Minister missed his opportunity to vote on the findings of the Privileges Committee on the ‘Partygate’ scandal.

Members of Parliament debated for five hours on whether or not to impose sanctions on former Prime Minister Boris Johnson over his denials that parties took place at Downing Street during lockdown. In Sunak’s absence MP’s voted 354 to 7 in favour of the report, which found that Johnson committed five contempts of parliament, including misleading the Commons and the cross-party group responsible for investigating him.