Work Avenue celebrates 20 years after helping 40k families build brighter futures

Work Avenue has marked its 20th anniversary by celebrating two decades of helping more than 40,000 families find employment, start businesses and gain the skills needed to achieve financial independence.

More than 250 guests, including trustees, staff, former chief executives, clients, donors and community leaders, gathered at the charity’s Wohl Enterprise Hub in Finchley to reflect on its journey from a single desk in north-west London to one of the Jewish community’s leading employment and business support organisations.

Today, more than 4,000 people access Work Avenue’s services each year, with support ranging from career advice and recruitment to business mentoring and skills training.

Opening the evening, chair Mark Morris said the charity’s impact went far beyond the numbers.

He said: “We have assisted more than 40,000 families during the past 20 years. We are extremely proud that Work Avenue is there for everyone within our community and beyond – irrespective of their religious background, age, gender and geographical location.

“Our service has grown and evolved over the years, but what has never changed is what I consider our greatest achievement – the way we ensure every client is treated with the utmost care to enhance their self-esteem.

“My pledge tonight is that Work Avenue will continue to be that pillar in our community, maintaining the same mission and always assisting individuals and families to earn a living with dignity.”

During the past two decades, the charity estimates it has delivered around 30,000 one-to-one employment advice sessions and 15,000 business support meetings, alongside hundreds of workshops and training programmes.

The evening also recognised the people and organisations whose partnerships have helped shape Work Avenue’s success through a series of Pioneer Awards.

KMP Solutions received the Business Pioneer Award after founders Philip Klein and Solomon Mozes built a successful property and asset management company from beginnings supported by Work Avenue nearly 20 years ago. The business continues to give back by contributing time and expertise to the community.

The Entrepreneur Pioneer Award went to Ben Cohen, who worked with Work Avenue from the earliest stages of his business journey before founding the solar energy company HomeSun more than 15 years ago. He now leads Blink Payment, a platform designed to help organisations collect payments more efficiently.

Craig Hartzel was presented with the Innovator Pioneer Award. Having first worked with Work Avenue as a speaker on one of its early artificial intelligence panels when ChatGPT was still in its infancy, he now helps businesses, charities and communal organisations understand how AI can support people and improve the way they work.

The Partnership Pioneer Award was awarded to the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation in recognition of its long-standing backing of the charity. Alongside supporting Work Avenue’s services year after year, the Foundation has helped make the Wohl Enterprise Hub shared workspace a reality.

Accepting the award, Professor David Latchman CBE, chair of the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation, said: “My late uncle Maurice said to me, on many occasions, ‘build all these buildings, do all these things, but never forget the individual person’.

“Work Avenue is very much about supporting individual people, and we are delighted to be associated with them.”

The anniversary celebrations also paid tribute to former chief executives Shraga Zaltzman and Debbie Sheldon for their contribution to the organisation’s development over the past two decades.

Closing the evening, chief executive Debbie Lebrett thanked those who had helped shape the charity’s journey.

She said: “Looking around the room tonight, it is clear that Work Avenue’s growth and success over the last two decades is down to an incredible team of trustees, staff, supporters and clients – all with a shared vision and unwavering commitment to helping people in our community build better futures for themselves and their families.

Find out more about Work Avenue and its services here.