A time for reflection, Julie Marshall CEO of Jewish Care Scotland

Since our annual appeal launched last month, we have been inundated with generous donations and continued support from our community.  With the recent and upcoming Jewish festivals and our AGM just taking place I wanted to take this time to reflect on the past twelve months and to look ahead to the new year.

 

Nobody could have guessed this time last year that we would still be living with COVID-19 so prominent in the news, on our minds or in our communities.  It continues to play a part in our daily lives, continues to affect our health as well as our wellbeing.  Professionally and personally, it can be overwhelming at times.

 

My team at JCS have risen to every challenge that COVID-19 has presented with compassion and conviction and they have continued to support those who need us when they needed us most, I am immensely proud of each of them.  We have adapted to caring for our community while living with this virus to ensure that we can be there for our community, be there to support their needs in the safest way possible.

 

We could never have predicted the restrictions and lockdowns that were imposed in 2020 and with so many uncertainties around controlling the spread of the virus still ahead, JCS are preparing for every possibility in the coming winter months.  That’s why we need your support now more than ever, we can’t do it alone.

 

As restrictions ease, we look optimistically towards the next 12 months as we continue to work with our clients, our community, and our volunteers to listen to what they need moving forward.  Our amazing volunteers will have a central role in creating a welcoming and united community atmosphere as we support them to run a new volunteer-led drop-in café.  This will free up our staff to continue to deliver registered day care and provide support visits in the home for our most vulnerable.

However, we remain poised to react to the reintroduction of restrictions or lockdowns throughout the winter months.  We know too well the impact that these measures can have on individuals, our wider community and our colleagues and we are ready to react if need be.

With your help, we will continue to provide and promote culturally sensitive support for anyone who needs us, we will care for our community by continuing to visit and check in on our most vulnerable members.  More than ever there will be a focus on improving emotional wellbeing and promoting social interaction as we welcome more of the community back to our centre and provide Kosher meals safely in a community setting.

 

We are doing everything we can, but we need your help.  Please consider donating to our Annual Appeal today and making a difference to our community not only now, but for many years to come.

 

20/09/2021