Author: Robyn

This week leaders of the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council (GJRC) met with the Jewish Care Scotland (JCS) leadership team to share ideas, discuss current projects and opportunities to work more closely in the future.

The GJRC shared recent successes including their involvement in a community-led Afghan Refugee Project and the many events planned around the upcoming COP26 conference. JCS recounted the triumph of the recently launched Welcome Wednesday sessions and there was a positive energy around the shared values of the individuals and organisations involved.

Conducted online, the meeting is the start of collaborative working between the two organisations who each represent and support the Jewish Community in Glasgow and beyond. The GJRC represents the Glasgow Jewish community externally and internally working with agencies including Police Scotland and the Scottish Government, while JCS provides care and support directly to those who need it.

JCS Chief Executive Julie Marshall, “It was great to meet with our colleagues at GJRC this week to learn about their objectives, and current projects. It is clear that GJRC and JCS have a lot of shared goals which are designed to benefit the Jewish community in Glasgow and beyond and I look forward to working more closely with them in the future.”

GJRC President Paul Edlin said: “I’m delighted to be forging such a strong alliance between the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council and Jewish Care Scotland and we are looking forward to working together for the benefit of the Jewish community in the Glasgow area in a most productive way.”

This is an exciting time for both organisations, independently and jointly. Keep an eye on social media, online and in the press for future developments.

Volunteers are leading a new drop-in get together at JCS Walton Community Care Centre from Wednesday 6 October.  Welcome Wednesdays will be on each week from 1pm to 4pm offering a place for people to meet up. JCS Welcome Wednesday

The charity welcomed back clients to their day care service, the JCS Wellbeing Hub, in July and are delighted to now host more of the community at Welcome Wednesdays.

Lynsey Allan, Head of Service for Community and Wellbeing, said, “With so many changes to the way we support the community since 2020, we are delighted that our volunteers are leading on this initiative, allowing more people to get together.  Their commitment allows our team to continue delivering social support to those who need it at home, while Welcome Wednesdays will be a great place for the community to socialise.”

Welcome Wednesdays will run weekly from Wednesday 6 October. Anyone is encouraged to come along for a coffee and a catch up.  Attendees should note that this service is volunteer-led with no access to JCS staff.  If you’re interested in coming along and want to know more visit www.jcarescot.org.uk or email hello@jcarescot.org.uk. 

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.

We are delighted to have published a review of our activities, finance and community for 2020/ 2021. Our annual review includes information on how we’re funded.

We receive one-off donations, regular gifts and formal grants from Trusts and Foundations amongst other funding.  One of our biggest sources of funding is from the Jewish Blind Society. Their regular donations and support allows us to plan our services for the year ahead.  Thank you to the Jewish Blind Society all of their trustees for their ongoing support.

Despite unimaginable challenges from March 2020, JCS Chief Executive Julie Marshall said she is “pleased to see such positivity in the pages and photos of this annual review.  We’ve come together in ways that show the generosity of our supporters and the hugely positive impact that JCS has made to so many in the past year.”

You can read this years review here: JEWISH CARE ANNUAL REVIEW 2020 21

Rabbi Rubin is taking on the Jewish Care Scotland (JCS) Firewalk challenge on Sunday 23 January 2022 to raise vital funds for the Giffnock-based charity.

The charity launched the fundraising event in July and the adrenaline challenge will kick-start a year of fundraising events in 2022.  The event will take place at the Walton Community Care Centre, the charity’s headquarters, in Giffnock with participants taking on a short training session before braving the burning embers!

Rabbi Rubin, who has taken part in a similar event in the past, is looking forward to getting involved saying that, “It’s lots of fun and laughter!”.

Robyn Friel, Head of Fundraising at JCS, said “We are delighted to have the support of Rabbi Rubin for our first fundraising event of 2022.  After such a difficult time we can’t wait to get back to face to face fundraising events.

Our Firewalk coincides with Burns Night and we hope that friends and families of those taking part will come along, cheer them on and enjoy some Burns themed festivities too!”.

The charity are looking for participants to sign up and get involved for a r£20 registration fee and asking that they raise a minimum of £130 sponsorship.  You must be aged 16 or over to take part.  For more information on how to get involved, visit their website at www.jcarescot.org.uk or email Robynf@jcarescot.org.uk.

We are delighted to have welcomed back our JCS Wellbeing Hub to the Walton Community Care Centre.  On Tuesday 20 July, seven clients returned to the Centre after over 16 months.  Clients were welcomed by the JCS team, some members of the Board, a Representative from the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council, local MSP Jackson Carlaw and Rabbi Rubin.

After a lot of hard work behind the scenes including thorough risk assessment, deep cleaning, replacement of furniture and training to improve infection control, our clients were delighted to return to the Centre and be reunited with friends.  Clients took part in activities after a much needed catch up over coffee and cake.

Lynsey Allan, Head of Service for Community and Wellbeing said of the return to in person services, “It’s great to see our clients back at the JCS Wellbeing Hub after such a long break.  The team have worked tirelessly to ensure we can bring our clients back to our in-house service safely and have even recruited volunteer drivers to help them get to and from the JCS Wellbeing Hub as safely as possible.”

During the pandemic JCS provided welfare calls, meal deliveries, essential shopping, and Jewish Telegraph deliveries, improving wellbeing and helping people remain connected to their community and culture.

Jackson Carlaw MSP attended the reopening and said, “While a fantastic job has been done delivering home support over the past year, nothing compares to the sheer joy of meeting in person again.  It is a delight and pleasure to see.”

Jewish Care Scotland (JCS) group activities will resume from Tuesday 20 July at their Walton Community Care Centre in Giffnock. With COVID-19 restrictions easing across the country and many safeguarding and infection control precautions in place, the JCS Wellbeing Hub will return to the Walton Centre over a year since the service was paused.

Since March 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jewish Care Scotland were no longer able to open their day centre to elderly and vulnerable groups and instead began delivering social support to people in their own homes from July 2020.

The JCS Wellbeing Hub will operate from the Walton Centre on a Tuesday and Thursday morning from 10am-1pm. People currently supported by JCS will be invited to take part in activities like yoga, art or quizzes along with the opportunity to spend time with others playing cards, dominoes or simply chatting. They’ll also come together to enjoy a two-course lunch prepared by Gary, The Kosher Chef.

Julie Marshall, Chief Executive of Jewish Care Scotland, said, “We are delighted to be able to welcome the people we support back into the centre after so long. To ensure the safety of the attendees and our staff the centre and our offices will otherwise remain closed for the time being allowing us to take this huge step towards resuming one of our most popular services.”

During the pandemic JCS provided welfare calls, meal deliveries, essential shopping, and Jewish Telegraph deliveries, improving wellbeing and helping people remain connected to their community and culture. Lynsey Allan, Head of Service for Community and Wellbeing at JCS said, “The ability to spend this one-to-one time with the people that we support has grown relationships with our staff and allowed us to really get to know each individual well and assess their abilities, along with their interests. This has allowed us to involve the people we support in our plans to resume our in-house services”.