‘Walid looks after my dad like his own’: Rob Rinder’s emotional tribute as Jewish Care dinner raises £5.6m

Rob Rinder paid an emotional tribute to the Jewish Care carer looking after his father as the charity raised £5.6 million at its annual dinner on Monday night.

Speaking at Grosvenor House, the broadcaster and barrister told 1,000 guests that “Walid looks after my dad like his own”, drawing one of the evening’s warmest responses.

The fundraiser, hosted by Rinder and former BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis, raised a record-breaking £5.6 million for Jewish Care’s services and included the first public showcase of the charity’s new Sugar & Ronson Campus in Redbridge.

Rinder spoke movingly about his father David, who lives with dementia and is supported by Jewish Care, describing the difficult decision his family faced when they realised he could no longer be cared for at home.

“No family arrives at that moment lightly,” he said.

“It took me a long time to understand that recognising your limits is not the same thing as giving up. Sometimes, it’s the most loving thing you can do.”

He told guests that Jewish Care had given his family reassurance at one of the hardest periods of their lives.

“What I remember most in that first call to Jewish Care is how I felt when I put the phone down. Relief. Not because everything had suddenly become simple, it absolutely hadn’t, but because for the first time in a long time, I felt we were no longer carrying this by ourselves.

“Somebody understood, somebody knew the road ahead, and that behind all the questions was a family trying to do the right thing by someone they loved.”

“The people caring for my dad were caring for us, too,” he said.

Describing the charity as “the neshama, the soul of who we are as a community,” Rinder said: “When I walk into Otto Schiff care home, what strikes me isn’t the building. It’s a feeling.

“The feeling that people are known there. The feeling that lives are not reduced to diagnoses.”

Opening the evening, Maitlis reminded guests why they had gathered.

“Tonight the stars of the show are Jewish Care’s clients – the 12,000 people whose lives are touched by the organisation every single week,” she said.

Guests were also given a first look inside the completed Sugar & Ronson Campus, which will bring together residential care, dementia support, community services and mental health provision for the Jewish community in Essex and north-east London.

Speaking about the new development, Lord Sugar said creating a place that felt welcoming and familiar had always been his priority.

“The truth is, giving to Jewish Care has always been very simple for me: you can see the difference it makes – it’s just people helping people,” he said.

“Choosing a care home for a loved one is one of the biggest decisions you have to make. You want to walk in and immediately think, they’ll be safe here. They’re going to be happy here. They’re going to be treated with dignity here.

“I wanted it to feel like a home. And the measure of success is seeing quality of life for the people who are going to be living there.”

Among the evening’s most moving speakers was Holocaust survivor Janine Webber BEM, who described how Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre helped her come to terms with memories she had carried for decades.

Webber told guests about her childhood escape from the Lvov Ghetto, years spent in hiding and the lasting trauma of losing her immediate family during the Holocaust.

For many years, she struggled to speak about what she had experienced.

“I would cry at night because I didn’t want my children to be upset,” she told guests.

After receiving specialist therapeutic support through the centre, she gradually found the confidence to share her testimony publicly.

“The centre is vital,” she said. “It gives us somewhere to go and be safe with friends who understand what we’ve been through.

“The staff are absolutely wonderful, very warm and friendly, and it’s my home.”

Guests also heard from John Featherman, who spoke candidly about his battle with mental illness and how support from Jami, Jewish Care’s mental health service, helped him rebuild his life after a suicide attempt.

Recalling his first experiences at Jami’s Head Room café, he said: “I came away feeling ten foot tall.”

“I went home and said, ‘I’m normal. I’m normal.’”

Now a volunteer and ambassador for the charity, Featherman said: “Jami and everything it does has the power to change lives.

“It really did save my life – and I hope that, thanks to your support, it will save many more.”

The audience also heard from Evelyn Middleditch, whose husband David attends Jewish Care’s Sam Beckman Centre for people living with dementia.

David attends the centre several times a week, taking part in activities including quizzes, theatre, dancing and singing. He was also part of The Sam Beckman Choir, whose members wrote and recorded the original song A New Beginning, released earlier this year.

“I really can’t express how much Jewish Care has helped us,” she said.

“David absolutely loves it. The place and the people are out of this world.”

Volunteer Barbara Jaye spoke about finding friendship and purpose through Jewish Care’s Redbridge Jewish Community Centre and its Singing for Memory programme.

“They welcomed me with open arms,” she said.

“Whether it’s singing, table tennis or supporting people with dementia, it just feels good to be part of something that brings people joy.

“Seeing people smile, sing and feel happy together – that’s what Jewish Care does so well,” she said.

Another emotional moment came when siblings Emma and Ben spoke about the care their grandmother, Sheila Sekenofsky, known to the family as Bubby, received at Jewish Care’s Vi and John Rubens House.

“Bubby was a truly remarkable woman who had an incredible zest for life,” Emma said.

Ben said it had been important for his grandmother to spend her final years in a Jewish environment.

“She wasn’t just another resident,” he said. “She was known, respected and loved.”

Reflecting on her final months, he added: “She had an amazing life, and thanks to the Jewish Care staff, she also had an amazing end of life.”

Guests were also treated to a performance from West End star Emma Kingston, who sang songs from Yentl, Les Misérables and Wicked.

At the end of the night, all nine clients and volunteers who had shared their stories returned to the stage together to thank supporters, receiving a standing ovation from the packed ballroom.

Jewish Care Life President Lord Levy said the £5.6 million raised would help the charity continue supporting 12,000 people whose lives it touches each week.

“We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported us at this year’s Annual Dinner, helping us raise such an incredible amount of £5.6 million,’ he said.

“At a time of real challenge for our community, these vital funds will help us continue providing life-changing Jewish care and support to the 12,000 people whose lives we touch each week.”

Jewish Care chair Marcus Sperber added: “Our heartfelt thanks go to our hosts, Emily Maitlis and Rob Rinder, to Emma Kingston, to our table hosts, and to everyone whose time and support made the evening such a success.

“We are especially grateful to the clients and volunteers who shared their stories so movingly and are at the heart of all we do.

“We rely entirely on the generosity of our community to provide the highest quality care and support, rooted in dignity, respect, and Jewish traditions and values, and we are immensely grateful to them.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, support is available.

For immediate help, contact Samaritans free on 116 123, 24 hours a day.

People seeking support from Jami, Jewish Care’s mental health service, can visit jamiuk.org/get-support/, call 020 8458 2223, or text Jami to 85258 to access Shout’s free, confidential 24/7 crisis text service.

To find out more about Jewish Care’s services, visit jewishcare.org.