Read iCare - Jewish Care

JEWISH CARE’S MAGAZINE FOR STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS
Issue 01
November 2012
JEWISH CARE STAFF MADE THEIR FIRST
STREET COLLECTION, RAISING £565 BY SELLING
PURPLE THREADED BRACELETS IN NOVEMBER

WELCOME
Welcome to the first edition of iCare, our new internal
magazine for Jewish Care’s staff and volunteers.
An edition of iCare will appear
every other month and will
include news, views and
information about Jewish Care,
featuring our dedicated staff and
volunteers. I’m really excited
about this new magazine, which
will show real, positive examples
of how we all work together as
one team, making Jewish Care
such a wonderful organisation.
I do hope you will get a lot out of
reading it. Remember, it is your
magazine so if there is anything you
2 | iCare
think should get a mention, please
don’t forget to send an email to the
internal communications team on
internalcommunications@jcare.org
or call 020 8922 2809. I know they
will be very happy to receive your
news and photographs of what’s
happening around Jewish Care.
Congratulations to Dina Brawer
for picking the name of this new
publication… a box of chocolates
is on its way to you.
Happy reading!
T
he fundraising and marketing team is responsible
for sending out internal communications
at Jewish Care.
So, along with this new magazine, you’ll be able to find
out what’s going on through regular emails. We will make
sure you are not bombarded with too many unwanted
emails and get information more relevant to you.
News about some of the things happening within
Jewish Care will go out on email on Tuesdays. General
news and information on some upcoming events will
Simon Morris
Chief executive
A BIT ABOUT INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
go out on Wednesdays. We will also send out updates
on current staff vacancies and other HR news on Fridays.
Volunteer vacancies will also be sent out. If urgent
news has to be sent out, it will be done so immediately.
We would like your help. If you have any news you
want to share with others, please let us know about it
at internalcommunications@jcare.org or call 020 8922
2809. So keep us in the picture with any news, comments,
ideas or photos – we look forward to hearing
from you!
LET’S MEET…
VOLUNTEER
SIMON DAVIES
Simon has been volunteering in our Fundraising
and Marketing department since November
2004. He lives at Rela Goldhill Lodge, just around
the corner from the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Campus.
As well as volunteering, Simon also runs his successful
greeting card business, “Simon Says”.
Being able to volunteer “makes me feel like anybody else
my age,” he says. “It also allows me to give something back.”
This year has been a really special one for Simon. In July
he was one of Barnet’s Olympic torchbearers! It really was
his chance to shine and lots of people from Jewish Care
turned out to support him on what was a very hot,
incredibly happy day.
STAFF MEMBER
CHRISTINA BRAGO-NIMAKO
Christina joined us 15 years ago in October 1997
as a residential care worker. Based at Rubens
House, she did various jobs from laundry
assistant to carer to team leader. She is now social
care coordinator and is always very busy organising
lots to do for those living in the home.
Christina says: “I love working with Jewish Care because
there are opportunities for growth and development.
This has enabled me to identify skills that I might not
have thought of before. With Jewish Care, I feel a sense
of belonging and part of the community.”
iCare | 3

OUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
Over the past few months we have been learning more about how we can work together to promote
meaningful lives for all those who use our services.
WHAT HAVE WE DONE?
■ Over 800 people attended a three hour
interactive session in the summer.
■ Over 180 volunteers attended a 1 1 /2 hour
session in November.
■ More sessions have just been held for
those who couldn’t attend.
■ Every new member of staff and new volunteer
will attend a session on induction
MEETING THE MAYOR
4 | iCare
Councillor Brian Schama, the
Mayor of Barnet met Jewish
Care residents and staff in
October.
The Mayor and Mayoress were
given a tour of the Holocaust Survivors’
Centre and Ella & Ridley Jacobs
House in Hendon by Daniel
Casson, head of business development,
before making their way to
the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl
about how they can work together in different
ways to promote meaningful lives.
■ Every team will have a further session
with their manager to discuss what they
can do to work together to promote wellbeing,
enhance value and strengthen our
community through their work.
■ All volunteers have been invited to attend
further sessions over the next 6-8 months.
Together, we can make Jewish Care
a better place to work!
Campus in Golders Green.
There, the Mayor was met by
Simon Morris and Neil Taylor, director
of care and community services. He
saw the campus including the Otto
Schiff care home and the Selig Court
independent living apartments.
Simon said: “We wanted the
Mayor to meet the residents and
see the range and quality of care
that Jewish Care provides in Barnet.”
THE COLOUR PURPLE
T
ake a look at some of the
places our purple thread
has been spotted recently.
The purple thread is a powerful
symbol of Jewish Care and how it is
the thread that runs through the
community, reminding people that
if they ever need our help, we will
do everything in our power to be
there. It features in our latest
fundraising and marketing campaign.
Are you remembering to
wear it? Where will you take it?
iCare | 5

ASK SIMON
When Simon Morris meets staff at our new staff lunches, they have
the chance to ask him some questions. Here are just a few, with his answers:
Does Jewish Care have any
plans to expand outside of London
and the South East?
Not directly. I see our role as acting
as a coordinator and a convener
of health and social care organisations
within the Jewish community
which could lead us to playing a
role in advising. However, in terms
of developing and operating services,
I am not sure.
CATCH THE COACH
Our coaching and mentoring programme
for staff will help you
develop your career. Coaching will
improve your skills, so you can do your
job better.
With mentoring, you work with a colleague
who has specialist knowledge. Our
coaches will be Sonia Douek, Sharron Grant,
Alex Myers and Sandra Saintus. Mentors will
be found to suit your own special needs.
For more information on coaching, call
Alex Myers on 020 8922 2432 or for mentoring,
call Sonia Douek on 020 8922 2166.
6 | iCare
Where do you see Jewish Care
in five years’ time?
I would like to see us having developed
more, being an even better
place to work with a greater staff
connection to the organisation,
having built Asher Loftus Way, potentially
redeveloped Rela Goldhill
Lodge, the Sinclair House site, and
be developing plans for The
Princess Alexandra Home.
Above Sonia Douek
Right Sandra Saintus
What do you think is the organisation’s
biggest weakness?
The organisation is historically
very hierarchy orientated, and this is
still increasingly difficult to change.
How do we keep good people and
get them to take responsibility? It is
a two-way thing. We want people
to feel pride in everything they
accomplish and take responsibility
as well.
OUR AMAZING VOUNTEERS
All our volunteers are dedicated, wonderful people, but five people
deserve to be singled out in this issue…
Congratulations to Geoffrey
Morris and Philippa Ackerman,
who have both been
named as Diamond Champions
for their outstanding volunteer
work. They received their awards
from actress Patricia Routledge
at a reception in October (Geoffrey
is pictured with Patricia, on
the right).
Congratulations, too, to Michael
Brown, who has received an award
from the London Gardens Society
for his work in the garden at Lady
Sarah Cohen House.
A huge mazeltov to Stanley
Comras, who volunteers at Clore
Manor and is the winner of this
year's Community Hero Award, run
by the Jewish News. Well done,
Stanley, and congratulations also
go to Francesca Marks, volunteer at
Rubens House, who was shortlisted
for the award.
OUR SUPERB STAFF
The Great London Care Awards
2012 were held earlier this
month, and we had finalists in
two categories.
Well done to Hilary De Martino,
from Vi & John Rubens House, who
was a finalist in the Dementia Carer
GIVE AS
YOU LIVE
Please pledge to raise money
for the Jewish Care every time
you shop online.
When you download Give as
you Live thousands of brands
have signed up to donate to Jewish
Care a percentage of everything
you spend online, at no cost
to you. An extra £5 will be raised
for every shopper who spends a
minimum of £10 online.
To register go to Give as you
Live at www.jewishcare.org/giveas-you-live.
If you do most of your
shopping at home you may wish
to sign up using your personal
email address and download Give
as you Live onto your own computer.
Thank you!
Award section, while Susan Nahum,
Max Bianconi and Sudene Powlette
were finalists in the Care Team
award. They are based at Rela Goldhill
Lodge.
Congratulations to all the finalists
on doing such an amazing job!
iCare | 7

DIWALI DELIGHTS
Congratulations and thanks
go to Mina Mistry, Usha
Parmar, Darshna Patel and
Meeta Badiani from the Finance
Department, who were the
driving force behind November’s
amazing Diwali celebrations at
Amélie House.
Staff entered into the spirit of
the festival by dressing up and
enjoying typical Indian food.
Above Staff dress up in style and get ready
to party at the Diwali celebrations
8 | iCare
Diwali is the Hindu festival of
lights. It is traditionally marked by
placing decorated oil lamps (each
called a ‘deepa’ in rows (‘avali’) –
hence the Sanskrit name, ‘Deepavali’.
The festival celebrates the
victory of good over evil, light
over darkness and knowledge
over ignorance. Diwali is also celebrated
by Jains and Sikhs. Happy
Diwali!
REMEMBER:
Pension auto enrolment
starts for us on 1 October
2013. There will be more
details about how this
affects Jewish Care staff
over the coming months.
Charity Reg No. 802559