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- 2009 News
- MSP takes the driving seat in launching a new vehicle for Jewish Care Scotland
- 2009 Annual Appeal
- Therapeutic Donations give a lift to Jewish Care Scotland Clubs - 29 June 2009
- Tree of Life Launched to raise funds - 31st May 2009
- 2009 Fun Walk
- News about Jewish Care Scotland's 150th anniversary...
- East Renfrewshire Council celebrates Jewish Care Scotland's 150th Anniversary, 25th September 2008
- Social Care Agency Coffee Evening Volunteer Week gathering celebrates 150 years of volunteering, 3rd June 2008
- Out Now! A Caring Community - 150 years of Jewish Care Scotland by Sharon Barron
- Glasgow City Council celebrates Jewish Care Scotland's 150th anniversary, 25th May 2008
- Jewish Care Scotland 150th anniversary year launch at the Tall Ship, 29th January 2008
2009 News
MSP takes the driving seat in launching a new vehicle for Jewish Care Scotland
MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) for East Renfrewshire Ken Macintosh took a break from his busy schedule to help Jewish Care Scotland launch their new transport service on Friday 16th October at 12 noon.
The MSP inspected a new £40,000 Mercedes vehicle for wheelchair users and other passengers, which offers a luxury travelling environment for clients being brought to the Jewish Care Day Centre at May Terrace in Giffnock.
Said Mr Macintosh: “Jewish Care Scotland offers a unique package of care, compassion and friendship for people of all ages from the local Jewish community and this splendid new bus will allow for a safe and comfortable journey for those travelling from home to the Walton Community Care Centre.”
The new state of the art vehicle offers its users disabled friendly access, playback of DVDs and CDs during the journey, air conditioning and the latest safety equipment.
Vice Chair of Jewish Care Scotland David Bishop said: “The new vehicle has been purchased from donations made during a recent fund raising campaign to celebrate our 150th anniversary and we are very grateful to all those who have generously contributed.”
Jewish Care Scotland provides support for around 500 Jewish families living in Scotland and offers care and friendship for people of all ages, especially those with chronic or enduring illnesses.
Funders and club members check out the new bus
Ken Macintosh MSP says "welcome aboard!"
Vote of thanks from Vice-Chair David Bishop to Ken Macintosh MSP
2009 Annual Appeal
Maureen Solomons, Chair of Jewish Care Scotland, speaking at the launch of the 2009 Annual Appeal said: “2009 is a challenging year for everyone faced with the impact of the current global economic climate. Jewish Care Scotland has reduced expenditures and is making every effort to be as efficient as possible. We have a substantial sum to raise through this Appeal and we urge people in the community to reflect on the work of Jewish Care Scotland and ensure that we can help all those who seek our support.”
“There are older people with no family and those whose family have moved away. There are people with progressive illnesses. There are those with acute mental health problems. There are families, of all ages, who find they are struggling to cope. There are those who find themselves with unforeseen family, domestic or financial crisis. We need to be there for everyone.”
“Donations to the Annual Appeal will help fund the professional social work team including those with specialist knowledge in debt management, family problems and care in the community for older people. It is essential that we raise enough in this Annual Appeal to ensure that we can continue to deliver the care and support we know people want and seek.”
The 2009 Appeal leaflet and donation form is available directly from Jewish Care Scotland. This year anyone wishing to make a donation can do so securely and safely on-line below or they can telephone Jewish Care Scotland and make a credit/debit card donation.
Therapeutic Donations give a lift to Jewish Care Scotland Clubs - 29 June 2009
Two new recent donations to Jewish Care Scotland mean the much appreciated and popular therapeutic programmes in the Day Care Service and at the Kandu Club are able to continue.
The Jewish Blind Society (Scotland) has contributed £5,000 towards the programme for the Kandu Club. Anne Coyle who manages the Club said: “This is terrific news. The current financial situation had meant we had to reduce the programme quite recently. Now we can resume the programme and the members can continue to enjoy and benefit from the massage and beauty treatments. The professional therapy programme offers members, many of whom are confined to wheelchairs for part of the day, a chance to relax and to enjoy a bit of pampering. The therapies also help with circulation problems and instil a sense of wellbeing which is terrific.”
The (Jewish) Glasgow Girls in London have also sent a cheque for £1,800 towards the therapeutic programme for the registered day care service, the Aviv Club.
Glasgow Girl in London, Louise Naftalin said: “We hope our contribution to this project will be beneficial to all those taking part and help Jewish Care Scotland continue providing such excellent therapies. “
The Girls raised funds at their 2nd Burns Supper in January this year, which was attended by hundreds of Glasgow ex-pats and supported by Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy and actress Maureen Beattie among others. This is the second time the Glasgow Girls have contributed to the Aviv Club programme which includes foot, shoulder and back massages, reflexology and beauty treatments including manicures and pedicures. The Aviv Club members are older people who attend Jewish Care Scotland’s Day Centre. Many have mobility problems and welcome the treatments which they find particularly helpful.
Chief Executive Ethne Woldman said: “Both the Jewish Blind Society and the Glasgow Girls have been most generous, thoughtful and kind in helping us to continue with the therapeutic programmes which are so much appreciated by the members of each club.”
Tree of Life Launched to raise funds - 31st May 2009
The Tree of Life, a new and unique copper sculpture designed and made by well known Glasgow Jewish sculptor Lynn Wolfson, was unveiled in the reception hall at Jewish Care Scotland in Giffnock.
Maureen Solomons, Chair of Jewish Care Scotland introduced The Tree of Life to an audience of over 90 people from the community including Alex Mackie, East Renfrewshire Council Provost and the Rt. Hon. Jim Murphy MP, Secretary of State for Scotland who said: “The Tree of Life is a new and special tree that will have a lasting legacy.”
Maureen explained: “We have capacity for 150 leaves only, so the sculpture is a very special and unique piece and a testimonial to people’s care, love and memories. An inscribed copper leaf on the tree is a lovely way to celebrate a new life, to mark special times in our lives like a barmitzvah, a wedding, a special anniversary or birthday. A leaf is also a very nice way to celebrate the lives of those whom we love but sadly are no longer with us.
“Each leaf will be engraved with the name and a more detailed entry written in calligraphy in the Book of Life alongside the tree. Each leaf plus the written dedication costs £250.00 and £100 for those just wishing to make an insertion in the Book. With our community ‘s support we look forward to seeing our tree flourish and give pleasure to many for years to come.”
Artist Lynn Wolfson hung the first leaf inscribed in the name of her late mother Phyllis Shulman who was also a lifelong supporter of the charity.
Jewish Care Scotland Director Trevor Schuster-Davis hung a leaf in the name of The Alexander Stone Foundation as a thank you to Lady Bette Stone who kindly donated the cost of the materials for The Tree of Life and additional leaves in celebration of her family and friends.
Already over 50 leaves have been bought and Maureen is inviting others in the community to come forward and add their copper leaf too. Tree of Life request cards are available directly from Jewish Care Scotland.
2009 Fun Walk
2009 Fun Walk brings exercising and fundraising together.
Over 90 participants of all ages- including babes in buggies and family pets- completed the 4 or the 8 mile Fun Walk routes on Sunday 14th June 2009 to raise funds for Jewish Care Scotland’s welfare services. On a glorious day the walkers headed out to the swirl of the bagpipes and returned to collect their medals…. and a well earned smoked salmon bagel and refreshment.
Walk Committee volunteer Chairman, Gary Clark said:” I am delighted with the turnout we had and really pleased at the number of children who took part. A great deal of hard work goes into organising the event and I want to thank all the volunteers and sponsors who contributed and especially all the walkers for their sterling efforts and fundraising. This year some walkers made their own fundraising page through the Jewish Care Scotland website link to Just Giving. Every penny raised by every walker will help Jewish people in need in Scotland.”
P. S. Do Come and Join us for the 2010 Fun Walk
Suitable for all the family!
All ages welcome, £5 adult registration fee!
Under 16s are free!
Come and join in the fun ...
Send in your application form now and we will send you your sponsorship sheets, information sheet, walker number and walker's pack.
"WHY NOT PHONE A FRIEND?"
Ask a friend to walk with you - each walker means more sponsors!!!
Help us raise funds for Jewish Care Scotland's weekly Drop-In Centre and other services for vulnerable Jewish people in Scotland.
Do it Online by clicking here and printing the form from your computer.
You can raise sponsorship by clicking on the "Donate on-line" link - so friends and family worldwide can easily support your efforts - it's fun and easy!
Watch out for more details of the 2010 Fun Walk!
East Renfrewshire Council celebrates Jewish Care Scotland's 150th Anniversary, 25th September 2008
East Renfrewshire Council’s Provost Alex Mackie hosted a civic dinner for 150 guests to honour Jewish Care Scotland‘s 150th anniversary year. The evening event was attended by volunteers, directors, staff, service users and guests including two young singers and a young cellist from Tirgu Mures in Hungary, who entertained with a recital of Jewish and classical songs and music.
During the evening Provost Mackie presented Jewish Care Scotland with a commemorative rose bowl. East Renfrewshire Council was presented with copies of A Caring Community…150 Years of Jewish Care Scotland for the Council’s libraries. Jewish Care Scotland presented a framed embroidery picture, entitled 21 Jewish Symbols. The embroidery was stitched over eighteen months by elderly members of the arts and crafts groups of Jewish Care Scotland’s Aviv and Thistle Clubs. Provost Mackie accepting the embroidery said: “It will have pride of place in the council offices.”
In welcoming the guests Provost Mackie said: “We at East Renfrewshire Council are extremely proud of our very special relationship with the Jewish community and particularly with our unique partnership with Jewish Care Scotland. All your endeavors at Jewish Care Scotland are vital and one of the hallmarks of the organization is the work done by the volunteers who are the true foot soldiers and heroes and heroines of the community. “
Responding Maureen Solomons, chair of Jewish Care Scotland, said:” We have enjoyed a unique partnership with East Renfrewshire Council and look forward to continuing this tradition for a great many years to come. “
Social Care Agency Coffee Evening celebrates 150 years of volunteering, 3rd June 2008
East Renfrewshire Health and Care Partnership Director Julie Murray, guest of honour at the Social Care Agency 150th anniversary year coffee evening said: “ Jewish Care Scotland and its volunteer Social Care Agency is a model for community welfare.”
80 of the now well over 100 volunteers gathered also heard Julie say:” East Renfrewshire Council is very proud of its unique partnership with Jewish Care Scotland and recognizes the huge amount of added value the charity and its volunteers contribute. “
Lesley Roles Chair of the Social Care Agency welcomed volunteers and guests. She looked back over 150 years of volunteering and celebrated the qualities of passion, the sense of obligation, vision and deep sense of caring demonstrated year after year by volunteer after volunteer.
Freda Jackson, former chair of the Welfare Board, had the audience spellbound with her impromptu personal memories of volunteering over 50 years. She contrasted the Welfare Board premises in Coplaw Street and the current comfortable Walton Community Care Centre. She told guests: “In days gone by, the then handful of volunteers was concerned with different issues. Poverty was accepted. Moving from the Gorbals to Shawlands was like moving to heaven. The mezuzah had to be on the door before families moved in- if there was no hammer I used my shoe!”
Guest speaker, volunteer baker and former director of Jewish Care Scotland David Strang, reduced the audience to tears of laughter with his witty after tea speech gently satirizing the Agency volunteer committees.
(Everyone at Jewish Care Scotland was saddened by the death of Freda Jackson a few weeks later in July 2008. An obituary recording her achievements and contribution to welfare was published in The Jewish Telegraph on Friday 18th July 2008 and in The Glasgow Herald on Tuesday August 5th 2008).
Out Now! A Caring Community ... 150 years of Jewish Care Scotland by Sharon Barron
A Caring Community...150 years of Jewish Care Scotland treats us to glimpses and pictures from the past and then guides us through to the present day. Profiles bring to life many of the characters involved in all aspects of the organisation of the day. Case details give insights into the many problems experienced while also providing a picture of past times. 
The role of women, the continuity of family support, fundraising and the changing nature of welfare needed by families, refugees, the elderly and ill are all featured. The book highlights the various caring organisations that evolved into the professional service we have today. Running through the book is a timeline of world events and one of Scottish Jewish welfare events.
The book is a packed full with the history of welfare and is also very much a history of the Jewish people in Glasgow, Scotland's largest Jewish community.
It is written in an accessible way and attractively presented, with full colour illustrations throughout.
Author, Sharon Barron, is a volunteer with Jewish Care Scotland. A librarian by profession, Sharon is also a published author. Over the course of a year she undertook the research and writing for the book on a voluntary basis so that A Caring Community...150 years of Jewish Care Scotland could be published this year to coincide with Jewish Care Scotland's 150th anniversary year celebrations.
Sharon drew on the historic resources and photographic collections of the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre along with a number of personal reminiscences from former staff, volunteers, board members, friends and people whose family's were recipients of welfare support.
A Caring Community...150 years of Jewish Care Scotland is A4 size, 55 pages with a softback cover and is available from Jewish Care Scotland, The Walton Community Care Centre, May Terrace, Giffnock, Glasgow G46 6LD.Tel: 0141 620 1800 Fax: 0141 620 2409.
Price is £10.00 per copy plus post and packaging Copies can be ordered on our website www.jcarescot.org.uk by emailing admin@jcarescot.org.uk to purchase the book.
Glasgow City Council honours Jewish Care Scotland's 150th anniversary, 25th May 2008
Past and present staff, volunteers, Directors and club members, with councilors and representatives of Social Work services enjoyed a sparkling evening in Glasgow’s City Chambers as guests of Glasgow City Council’s Deputy Lord Provost, Baillie Allan Stewart to mark 150 years of caring by Jewish Care Scotland and its predecessor organizations.
Baillie Stewart said: “Since 1858 volunteers have given time and service to your community .Glasgow City Council retains a high regard for the work you undertake on behalf of some of the city’s elderly population. Jewish Care Scotland has made a fantastic contribution to the city and the country as a whole and is well worthy of the honour bestowed upon it.”
Maureen Solomons, chair of Jewish Care Scotland, responded: “We have a proud record of unbroken, continuous care in the community since 1858 when a handful of Jews, in the then tiny community, met with the intention of helping those less fortunate than themselves. Jewish immigrants, many escaping persecution, received a warm welcome typical of Glasgow and were able to establish themselves free from harassment and discrimination. We have always remained steadfast in our purpose in continuing to help those fleeing maltreatment. We are thrilled to celebrate our 150th anniversary in this magnificent setting and look forward to continue working in partnership with our fellow Glaswegians”
Maureen Solomons presented copies of A Caring community…150 years of Jewish Care Scotland a new book written by volunteer Sharon Barron who spoke about the early years of Jewish welfare in Glasgow.
Jewish Care Scotland's 150th anniversary year launch at the Tall Ship, 29th January 2008
They could never have known that the welfare society they started modestly all those years ago would still be functioning in 2008, albeit renamed and transformed beyond recognition. The Glasgow Hebrew Philanthropic Society was first recorded in 1858, trying to alleviate poverty and distress among the poor immigrant Jewish community who had settled in the west of Scotland and Glasgow, mainly to escape pogroms across Russia. Today, Jewish Care Scotland is still helping new Jewish immigrants to settle in Scotland 150 years later, as well as supporting Scottish Jewish families in need wherever they are in Scotland.
Chair of Jewish Care Scotland Maureen Solomons launching the year long celebrations said: “Jewish Care Scotland today prides itself in carrying on the traditions of the Glasgow Hebrew Philanthropic Society, supporting people in the community in a compassionate and professional way.
On 29th January 2008 at 10.30am on the Tall Ship, Glasgow, descendants of both the early Jewish philanthropists and refugees donned costumes of the period to commemorate symbolically the arrival in Glasgow of thousands of Jewish refugees between the 1850s and early 1900s where many of the arrivals sought work in the tailoring and ironmongery trades.
Deputy Lord Provost of Glasgow City Council Bailie Allan Stewart and Provost of East Renfrewshire Council Alex Mackie were also on the quayside, representing the welcome their authorities and communities have given over the 150 years.
Bailie Stewart said, “Our Jewish citizens have helped enrich Glasgow culturally and financially over the years. I am proud as Deputy Lord Provost to be at the Tall Ship to commemorate the arrival of your refugee antecedents 150 years ago. Jewish Care Scotland does so much important work looking after needy people with humility and compassion. This is an emotional day for the Jewish community and I am indeed honoured to be here.”
Provost Mackie said, “As home to Scotland’s largest Jewish community, we recall the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the body that became Jewish Care Scotland. East Renfrewshire enjoys a mutual, beneficial and very practical relationship with Jewish Care Scotland - and that is in the best traditions established when it was founded - and Jewish people arriving in our area looked for support and welcome. We are happy to continue to provide that welcome by supporting the excellent work that the charity continues to do, by basing social work staff within Jewish Care Scotland and by meeting the kosher catering needs of its clients.”
Three families of today’s Jewish asylum seekers were also present, as well some of the beneficiaries of the services provided by Jewish Care Scotland today.
The Tall Ship 150th Anniversary re-enactment, 29th January 2008
A veritable deluge of Scottish rain greeted our “refugees” arriving in Glasgow for the first time – however the civic welcome more than made up for that!
The following pictures of the event are by Alistair Sinclair and Hugh Dougherty.
A warm welcome to Glasgow...
The big adventure begins...
Four year old Baila thinks about her new home...
Where do we go now?
Is the weather always like this?