Jewish Care

Last week, 700 business men and women attended the Jewish Care Topland Group Business Luncheon at the Grosvenor House Hotel. The event was in association with Credit Suisse with guest speaker Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.

Boris Johnson

The event raised £250,000 for Jewish Care’s Stepney Jewish Community Centre, which has been at the heart of the East End of London for 72 years. The centre offers the area’s remaining Jewish population somewhere to meet, socialise, and remain physically and mentally active. It also offers support services, transport, meals on wheels and specialist staff for people with dementia.

Mayor Boris Johnson entertained the audience as usual, though more seriously shared his vieRichard Fisherw that London is the business capital of the world while outlining some of what he thought were the challenges facing the City of London in current times. He also talked about his admiration for Jewish Care by paying tribute to the wonderful care the organisation provides the community, “I want to pay the warmest possible tribute to Jewish Care for the help you give to thousands of people and the corresponding burden you lift from the state.”

At the event, Jewish Care honoured Richard Fisher with the Topland Group Business Luncheon Unsung Hero Award 2009, in memory of Philip Greenwold. The committee chose Richard, now 90 years old, as they felt that his lifetime of dedication and hard work for the community deserved recognition. Having survived the Holocaust and the slave camps of Siberia, Richard was eventually allowed to settle in Britain many years later but never forgot what it was like to have nothing. He has volunteered for Jewish Care for twenty years, tirelessly helping those who have fallen on hard times. He is also chair of the B’nai B’rith Leo Baeck Lodge, where again he ensures that people who need support or assistance are given it.

Upon collecting his award, Richard said: “I am greatly honoured, delighted, bewildered and at the same time very humbled that I have been chosen for such a prestigious award, which I will treasure and be proud of for the rest of my life.” He went on to say, “This country took me in and I feel I am giving back by helping the Jewish people who, through no fault of their own, need assistance.”

Maurice Golker, Chairman of the Topland Group Business Luncheon Committee paid tribute to Jewish Care for their continuing ability to provide the vital services that are needed by so many. He said: “Over 7,000 people each week rely on Jewish Care for more than 70 different services and resources. Yet for many of these services, Jewish Care receives no money from either central or local government and these services would not exist were it not for the generous support of you and the wider Jewish Community.”

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