Tributes paid to ‘extraordinary’ JVN chair who died after contracting virus

Tributes were paid to the Jewish Volunteering Network’s (JVN) “extraordinary” chairman David Lazarus, who died recently at 63.

He was believed to have contracted the coronavirus.

Over 700 people tuned into the video conferencing platform Zoom last night to listen to a prayer service in his honour. The service was, according to the charity’s chief executive Nicky Goldman, both”beautiful and emotional” and featured “incredibly moving tributes” from his family.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, she described Lazarus as “an extraordinary human being, a mensch, who put his heart and soul into JVN.”

“He believed so passionately in people giving to others through volunteering, which he role modelled himself in a myriad of ways. David’s vision for JVN was simple – that everyone could and should volunteer and that there was no reason not to,” she wrote.

“As said last night, how lucky we are to have had David Lazarus in our lives. We will redouble our efforts to encourage people to give to others through volunteering as a lasting tribute to David,” she added.

A statement from the charity on Monday read: “David cared passionately about promoting and expanding volunteering in the Jewish community and beyond. His legacy will be our continuing commitment to connecting volunteers and supporting charities.”

Lazarus, who worked in marketing and business development, served at JVN since its inception, including as its chair from 2013. He was also the vice chairman of the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers, a charity which supports disabled consumers.

Lazarus is survived by his wife Gaby, children Micah and Lily, parents Berta and Leon, and his brothers Andrew and John and their families.