High Holy Day Appeal
The recipients in 2023 were
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)
3Food4U
You can donate by cheque made out to Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue or online at:-
Account name: Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue Reference HHA
Barclays Bank PLC Address: Barclays Bank PIc Loughton Leicestershire
Postcode: E87 2BB
Account number: 10224529
Sort code: 20-52-74
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)
This year for the High Holy Day Appeal we decided to do things differently and asked the children of the cheder each to prepare a presentation on a charity that they feel passionate about and present it to the rest of the class. The class would then vote for what they deemed to be the best presentation. After many passionate and detailed presentations, the children unanimously voted for Great Ormond Street Hospital.
They collectively decided that they wanted to raise money and seek support for a charity that helps sick children and help them better access the care that they need. Great Ormond Street Hospital is a specialist Children's hospital based in London. They have been helping sick children and their families for many years and see approximately 750 seriously il children everyday both as inpatients and outpatients. GOSH does everything it can to ensure that the hospital is top of the field yet as child friendly as i tcan be so that it can cater to children who sometimes have to stay at the hospital more than their own home. Their ethos revolves around making the hospital a happy place so that 'being sick' does not equate with 'being sad'. In order to provide this environment, they rely on donors like our support in order tofund: Rebuilding and refurbishments, continued support for families and children, continued research into children's health and life saving medical equipment. Our support can keep the hospital thriving and save lives.
Currently, the hospital is trying to raise money in order to build a new treatment centre for children who have rare and hard to treat cancers. As part of the centre, they will be building bedrooms to accommodate children and their families. They aim to build large bedrooms with balcony space in order to improve the mental health of those whose lives has been devastated by the news that their young family member has cancer. Giving just aslittle as €5 could go towards achildren's bed and £10 could help towards a ventilator for the unit. Please help the hospital builda safe and peaceful space for families who desperately need privacy and support.
3Food4U .org
In early March 2020, in the first lock down, Pesh Kapasiawala our Chair of Trustees, started a local Covid-19 support group for Chigwell, which was very busy helping with shopping/prescription collection and errands
for the elderly and vulnerable. During that period he was contacted by a colleague to help a catering company distribute surplus stock, which turned out to be a PLC with tens of thousands of employees which supplied most ofthe UK supermarkets. We distributed 100s of tonnes offood all over London and Essex to foodbanks, community kitchens and charities all of which otherwise would have been destroyed.
Then at the beginning of June 2020 Pesh had an idea to make the surplus food available to thepublic, where we could directly reach people in need. Most importantly we did not want to assess people or ask for a referral. With so much surplus food and the stress and delay that it causes to the people who need it, there was no need. We were very conscious that it can be embarrassing and awkward asking for support for the most basic essentials, food and clothing, especially when you have been self-sufficient all vour life. That's why we don't ask for an assessment or referral and are non-judgemental. If you're brave enough to ask for help, we give it, we trust people. The whole process is very natural, just like going shopping. We are not labelling this as a foodbank, but a community surplus hub, as much of what we are distributing would be sent to landfill.
We sign-post people to various agencies including DWP, Essex Children's and Family Services, CAB, wellbeing groups, debt relief charities and NHS amongst others. We are very proud that the vision we had is now a reality in Waltham Abbey (Monday and Friday), Loughton (Tues), Chigwell Row (Wed), Ongar (Thur) and in Tottenham (Sat/Sun/Tues) operating 7 days a week, accessible to the whole of Epping Forest District, North London and Essex. We are now the largest emergency food support agency in Essex and London. We are supporting over 1500 families/4000 individuals per week. We have over 300 volunteers, 4 large vans, warehousing, two shops and more.
In addition to this, another big motive is to stop much of what we have been given by large PLCs going to landfill. We have distributed over 1500 t o n e s of food which is the equivalent of 800,000 meals, saving
100,000s tonnes of CO2 going into the atmosphere.
We're much more than just emergency food support though. We have a range of services to provide aholistic
approach to community wellbeing. Including free counselling/coaching health & wellbeing support and NHS
health checks, job club, Food Education Classes, Numeracy skills training. Our free Social & Memory Cafes
are open to anyone who would like to socialise and are dementia friendly for people with varying degrees of memory issues and those who love and care for them with free light refreshments. We have 4 sessions a month
ni different locations across Epping Forest District Council. We also have a traditional charity shop ni Waltham Abbey where all funds raised are used to deliver our vital services.
Our ethos is treating and supportingp eoplehumanely with dignity and respect.