Jewish Care supporters raise £110,000 at Young Patrons Dinner
380 guests gathered at The Londoner Hotel to help support charity's vital services
More than 380 young Jewish Care supporters gathered at The Londoner Hotel for Jewish Care’s annual Young Patrons Dinner, raising over £110,000 to help support the organisation’s vital services.
Guests heard from Fiona Mendel, who shared the story of her late mother, Anne, who was cared for at Jewish Care’s Anita Dorfman House care home at Sandringham until she sadly passed away in December 2021, after her diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Fiona told the young supporters: “Jewish Care is not just close to my heart but has been a lifeline for countless others. They care about people. They care about us. Without Jewish Care my mum would have died alone in hospital.
“When I called their helpline they put me through to Amanda in their admissions team, she listened. She understood. She felt my pain as if it were her own. I told her about mum – how much she would love listening to my son play the piano to her each night since he was a young child. I knew instantly that Amanda wanted to help us.”
Amanda remembered what Fiona said about her mother’s love for the piano and when she moved into Anita Dorfman, there was a piano sitting outside her room. She had arranged with the staff for the piano to be there, so Fiona’s son could play to her when she arrived.
Anne was cared for at Jewish Care’s Anita Dorfman House care home for two weeks at the end of her life.
After she passed away, Fiona’s father, Tony, attended The Ronson Family Community Centre at Sandringham. Whilst there, he had a stroke and is now also cared for by Jewish Care’s dedicated staff at Anita Dorfman House.
“We may know Jewish Care for its Holocaust Survivors’ Centre, community centres and care homes.” Fiona said. “But how many of us know they offer bereavement services for those who have recently lost loved ones and need someone to talk to?”
A short film was shown to further share the impact of Jewish Care’s work before an appeal by Nicole Ashton, Chair of the Young Patrons Committee and Young Jewish Care Committee.
She said: “As our older Jewish community continues to age, health conditions, including dementia, continue to be more prevalent, the number of people experiencing mental health conditions continues to grow, and so too, does the increase in almost everything, from the price of food to electricity bills,” said Nicole. “This is having a huge impact on Jewish Care financially, which means that Jewish Care needs our support now more than ever.”
Speaking after the event, Ellisa Estrin, Jewish Care’s director of fundraising and marketing, added: “It was truly amazing to see a room full of hundreds of young people supporting Jewish Care and showing that they care about the older members of the community, and about all those we support. I would like to thank Fiona Mendel for sharing her story with us tonight.
“Jewish Care needs to raise almost 17 million pounds this year to help keep services like our community centres, our centres for people living with dementia, bereavement services, social work and community support team and so many more, running. The Young Patrons Dinner will go some way to achieving that goal and we are grateful to our young supporters for their generous support.”
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