3 FEBRUARY 2022
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Leap of faith for Camp Simcha CEO
King David primary School pupils joined together with hundreds of other schools around the UK to take part in the Foundation Stones. Each child decorated a stone which will form part of the new UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre being built next to the Houses of Parliament.
Jasmine Levene with her Holocaust painted stone
Neville Goldschneider about to do his fundraising abseil
Camp Simcha CEO Neville Goldschneider has taken his role to new heights with a sponsored freefall abseil off the UK’s tallest sculpture, London’s ArcelorMittal Orbit. He was joined by his daughter Leah for the charity’s Dare to Drop challenge, as well as Ashira Hibbert and Joe Shefras who did their abseil late last year. Billed as the UK’s highest freefall abseil, the challenge involves descending 80m to the ground. Mr Goldschneider admitted to being ‘terrified’ as he stood at the top waiting to jump off. “The Isolation Challenge I took on for Camp Simcha in 2020 – growing my beard for three months – was a bit less daunting – but then again this was over faster! “When I arrived at the Olympic Park and turned the corner to be faced with the giant structure that I was about to jump off of,
it felt very, very scary. I was literally shaking when I got to the bottom – as was my daughter Leah - but we raised nearly £3,500 between all four abseilers and the buzz once it was done was amazing.” Joe Shefras, from North London, chose to take up the challenge shortly before his 18th birthday so asked friends and family to donate to his sponsorship page rather than give him presents. “I volunteered with a friend at the Camp Simcha family fun day last summer and I saw the amazing work they were doing with the children and their families. So when I saw an opportunity to raise money for them and do the abseil I took it. “The abseil itself was great fun; it was really surreal to be dangling 80m from the top of the ArcelorMittal Orbit but a great experience seeing all those amazing views all over London.”
Howzat! Rafi Rafi Quint, a Hasmonean High School Year 8 student, has just been selected to be a part of the Middlesex U13 cricket squad. He has also been asked to join the pre-season U14 cricket tour to Barbados this April. It is a very special and exciting opportunity for him to participate in an elite sporting tour- and well worth missing the last week of term! His school wishes Rafi good luck stating he has earned his place. They stated that not only will he be competing as a cricket player, he will also be an ambassador for the community.
PHOTO: LAWRENCE PURCELL.
Paperweight – an ‘outstanding’ response to the pandemic The Paperweight Trust last week won “Outstanding Initiative in Response to the Covid 19 Pandemic” at the first ever London Borough of Barnet Faith and Belief Awards. The Jewish community’s citizen’s advice bureau supports people from across the entire religious spectrum, who come to Paperweight at very difficult times in their lives, frequently due to life-changing circumstances such as job loss, family breakdown, serious medical diagnosis and bereavement. In 2021 alone, Paperweight dealt with over three thousand separate case issues, accounting for more than 50,000 volunteering hours. Delivered by the Barnet Multi Faith Forum and Middlesex University, these Awards celebrate outstanding contributions of faith and belief groups that, through social action or community engagement, have had a positive impact on Barnet and improved the lives of its residents and communities. In making his acceptance speech, Paperweight Chairman Benjamin Conway
acknowledged the incredible work of the charity’s caseworkers, who had made the award possible: “We can only undertake this life-changing work through our 150 dedicated London caseworkers. During the past year, over 400 clients were lost and floundering in their benefits applications; more than 50 were mired in Family Law court proceedings; 30 needed to attend Benefits Appeals and 25 with restricted mobility needed our guidance to apply for a Blue Badge. We care for the soon-to-be homeless and the street-sleepers in the community – 85 including 5 already living in their car. And many others with nowhere else to turn. This is what Paperweight’s efforts do to our clients’ lives: It transforms them.” For further information, contact Communications Manager Michelle Rosenberg at michellerosenberg@paperweight.org.uk https://faithbeliefforum.org/event/ barnet-faith-belief-awards/
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