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Builders in

the making at

Tuffkid

Nursery

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neVer too young to leArn Fun For All on oFFiciAl Visitmusic mAestros

Mayor gets

stuck in during

visit to

Kisharon

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On course

for an

employability

qualification

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Volunteer suPerstAr

Danni learns

the value of

Kisharon

care

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Parshas Voeschanan

July 19, 2013

12 Av 5773

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Do you have any spare gardening equipment or areyou a keen gardener? Kisharon is creating a sensorygarden at Parson Street and equipment andmanpower is needed. The garden will be crammedwith delightful smelling plants and those that areinteresting to touch. Last year volunteers cleared thearea; now there are plans to create a special garden.

Aviva Braunold, Kisharon Adult ServicesManager, said: “We would like help fromanyone with gardening expertise and wouldlove to have a water feature, garden furnitureand even a greenhouse. If you have any of theseitems, please think of Kisharon and let us know.”You can contact Aviva on 020 3393 0164.

Up to much this summer? If theanswer’s ‘no’, why not go toKisharon’s Summer Camp?Three days packed with arts andcrafts, swimming, a farm visitand more are on the agenda,and volunteers are needed toensure everyone has a great time.

The camp runs from August 19-21 atLincolnsfields Children’s Centre, Bushey,

in the Hertfordshire countryside.Pick-up points are Stamford Hilland Golders Green. Cost is £60plus £20 transport.

Helpers are needed aged 16-18.Volunteers must be able to attend on allthree days. Interested? To come to thecamp, contact Ravit Gazit on 020 3393

0152,or to volunteer, call020 3393 0159oremail: volunteers@kisharon.org.uk

our cover picture shows Kisharon chief executiveDr Beverley Jacobson with gala Dinner speakers,explorer sir ranulph Fiennes, centre, andimpressionist Jon culshaw. Photo: Daniel morris.

Kisharon Head office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP � T: 020 8203 2233 � Helpline: 0844 496 4636

we can’t thankyou enoughBev is enjoying a well-earned short

break with her family, so the honour of

writing Bev’s bulletin has fallen to me

this month – and what a month it’s

been.

My first official event with Kisharon

was attending the annual Gala Dinner.

It was some first day! I was really

impressed by the event and the

generosity of the community in

supporting Kisharon. I know a huge

amount of work went into arranging

the event from co-chairs Daniel and

Sharon Green, the organising

committee and the fundraising team.

Credit is due to everyone involved in

making the evening so successful. The

donations and pledges will make a real

difference to the services we can

provide, and the people who use them,

and we can’t thank everyone enough.

On July 5 we had the pleasure of a visit

from the Mayor of Barnet Councillor

Melvin Cohen, who has chosen

Kisharon as one of his charities of the

year. The Mayor wanted to learn more

about what Kisharon does, and toured

a number of services. He joined in all

the activities, including volleyball and

even gave Eli Cohen a lift to celebrate

an Oneg Shabbos in the official car,

which made his day.

I’ve been very impressed with the

quality and dedication of the staff and

volunteers I’ve met in my first few

days. I’m sure everything is in place for

Kisharon to go from strength to

strength and I’m really pleased to be

given the opportunity to work for

such an exciting charity.

Expect much foot tapping andhumming from The Drive andKisharon Day School – and itmight just lead to a job.

The trio from the supported livinghouse, Chaim Dovid Rotenberg, EliCohen and Meir Halpern havejoined Boruch Landau and ShmuelKatz, from Kisharon Day School, ona six-week music and media courseat the Arts Depot in Finchley.

The electronic music course givesparticipants an employabilityqualification from the NCFE,which develops and designsnationally-recognised awards.

Supported Living ManagerRobert Speker said: “The men arereally enjoying the course andlearning new skills. It is a goodopportunity for them to meet otherpeople and make new friends.”

Coursesoundsamazing

Joe’s message

on course fora qualificationat the ArtsDepot

Can you help with new sensory garden?

Join the summer fun at Kisharon Camp

byJoe cooganDirector ofoperations

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3Kisharon Head office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP � T: 020 8203 2233 � Helpline: 0844 496 4636

If you might need a decent builder in a fewyears’ time, look no further than Tuffkid. Thechildren’s imaginations were fired with thearrival of builders doing road works outside theTuffkid Nursery in Golders Green. And theywere delighted when real-life builder JonathanMarriott, husband of nursery head Janice,came in to show a few tricks of the trade.

Jonathan, with colleague Rod Muciek,

taught the children about saws, screwdriversand nails, and explained how to build wallsand make corners. The children were alsotaught always to wear goggles and gloves.

Janice said: “Learning through realexperiences is the best lesson of all.”

Kisharon raised an incredible£756,000 at its gala dinner at the ParkPlaza Westminster Bridge Hotel.

‘Making the impossible possible’, a goalthat Kisharon always endeavours toachieve, was the theme of the evening. Itfeatured impressionist Jon Culshaw andSir Ranulph Fiennes, who enthralled the750-strong audience with stories of

Antarctic exploration. A number ofservice users and their carers attendedthe event and watched a film featuringAnaelle Silberstein from Edgware, whoattends Tuffkid nursery, and her parentsSharon and Joel.

� Those attending the Gala Dinner willbe aware of the complementaryparking offered to guests by Car Spa

Logistics. Due to the car valet servicelevels experienced, Kisharon wishesto put on record its gratitude to Rykarfor having generously put their goodname to sponsor this valet service.

Rykar is a valued supporter of Kisharonand were in no way connected to the CarSpa Logistics and car valet servicesprovided.

mission Possible

tenpin bowling balls are incrediblyheavy, but rebecca lassman andtamara Fynn had no troublesending theirs travelling down thelanes at Hollywood Bowl inFinchley. But who won? By the endof the game, rebecca, below, andtamara, who live in the supportedliving accommodation in eaglelodge, found they had tied, eachwith the same number of points.Fola Adebanjo of supported livingsaid: “We had so much fun. rebeccaparticularly loved bowling and herlevels of concentration and interestwere amazing.”

Bowled over!

Can we fix it?Yes we can!

Kisharon's hard-working gala Dinner committee

sharon and Joel silberstein, parents of Anaelle

Photos: Daniel m

orris

Kisharon took delivery this week of a new16-seater minibus, which has been donatedby the lord’s taverners charity and thePresident’s club. Daniel yeffet and DavidAbrahams are pictured left with the keys.

wheely great gift

tHe JeWisHPersPectiVe

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4

The Mayor of Barnet wasmistaken if he thought a visit toKisharon would be all brief chatsand handshakes.

Polite ‘hellos’ were well off theagenda for Councillor Melvin Cohen,who has named Kisharon as hischosen charity.

True to form, Kisharon adults,children and staff gave Cllr Cohenthe warmest of welcomes, but fromthen on he got well and truly stuck in.

He bathed plastic dolls at Tuffkidnursery, gave a ride to Eli Cohen in

While London sleeps you could be...

raising money for Kisharon!

This weekend more than 60 women

and girls will be taking part in

Kisharon’s second Moonlight Walk.

Mothers, daughters and groups of

friends and supporters will be

taking part and there’s still

time to join them.

Registration is open until

6pm today, Friday July 19.

The event will start at

11pm and there are

shabbos nachamuThis week’s sedra of Voeschanan is always read on theShabbos after Tisha B’Av, known as Shabbos Nachamu, theShabbos of consolation. The Jewish people were comfortedby Hashem Himself after the destruction of the first andsecond Holy Temples which were destroyed for theirfailure to keep all of Hashem’s mitzvos and causelesshatred of one another, respectively.

The Sedra this week informs us of the two mitzvos of notadding to, and not deducting from, any detail of thecommandments given by Hashem to the Jewish people atMount Sinai.

Why were these mitzvos related now by Moshe to theBnei Yisroel, at a time when Yehoshua had been chosen asthe new leader to succeed Moshe and to lead the peopleinto the Land of Israel? The reason these laws were givennow is because the Bnei Yisroel found themselves in anentirely new situation. They had come to the end of their40-year journey in the wilderness where they had beensurrounded by many miracles, for example the travelling

well of water, the manna from Heaven and Hashem’sprotection by the pillar of cloud during the day and thepillar of fire at night. The people, who were going to beled by a new leader, were now at the brink of entering anew land where they will have to face up to the rigours ofeveryday life without the support of miracles. Thereforethey may have thought: “New circumstances require newor adjusted laws.”

However, the Torah, which is Divine, never needs tochange. It is as valid now as it was when it was given atMount Sinai. The Torah and its laws do not need to adjustto keep up with ‘modern’ times. They may need to beapplied to, and protected from, modern-day life, but neveradded to or deducted from. No human being may tamperwith the mitzvos as it says “the Torah of Hashem isperfect”.

May we endeavour to faithfully keep all the mitzvos ofHashem and not pick and choose which bits to keep orchange. Through this renewed commitment may Hashemreward us by rebuilding, soon in our days, the Holy Templeas an eternal structure in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

by

yaakov KramerHead oflimmudei Kodesh

Walk with us this weekend

Kisharon Head office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP � T: 020 8203 2233 � Helpline: 0844 496 4636

the mayor gets

stuck in!

it’s a non-stop hands-on experience as mayor councillor melvin cohen plays ball, dances…

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5

his official car, had his shining mayoralchain of office closely scrutinised,danced joyfully at an Oneg Shabbos,smelled a steaming pot of cholentbubbling on the stove and playedvolleyball with an outsized blue balloon.

After his tour, Cllr Cohen said: “It was areal privilege to visit and I found it to bean extremely inspirational experience.Having the chance to see Kisharon’s

work first hand gave me a completelydifferent perspective on the support itprovides.

“I now have a better understanding ofthe many challenges that people withlearning difficulties face throughouttheir lives.

“I am very pleased to support thisinspirational charity that does so muchgood in the borough of Barnet.”

Mancunian Joe Coogan isKisharon’s new Director ofOperations. Joe, formerlyassistant director at the LondonBorough of Havering, will takeresponsibility for all of Kisharon’s

services.

Joe was drawn to the post after meetingKisharon Chief Executive Dr Beverley Jacobson ata conference. He said: “She is inspirational andpassionate about Kisharon. I realised it would bea great opportunity for me to work withsomeone who is as energetic and driven as Bev.”

Joe has worked in the past with the Jewishcommunity in Salford, yet recognises as with anynew role that there is a big learning curve. Hehas really appreciated how everyone has beenvery patient in explaining how things are done.

Joe, who lives in Upminster, is married toStephanie and they have two daughters, Rebecca,five, and three-year-old Clare.

Kisharon’s new Director ofCorporate Services is PaulDarnell. Paul, who now heads thefinance and accounting, humanresources, IT and facilitiesdepartments, aims to provide a

professional infrastructure to support careworkers and Kisharon’s services.

“I was drawn to Kisharon by the wonderful workthat it does,” he said.

Paul, who lives in Islington, is married to Kim.The couple have two sons, Benjamin, five, andthree-year-old Sebastian.

Paul comes to Kisharon from GoodenoughCollege, a London charity which providesresidential accommodation for postgraduatestudents worldwide.

� The appointments of Joe Coogan and PaulDarnell complete Kisharon’s new leadershipteam. Joe, Paul and Richard Franklin, Director ofFundraising and Communication all report to DrBeverley Jacobson.

Kisharon Head office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP � T: 020 8203 2233 � Helpline: 0844 496 4636

A Kisharonwelcome to Joeand Paul

two routes to choose from: 10km and

20km.

Registration is £25 for adults and £5

for under 16s, who must be

accompanied by a walking adult.

Minimum sponsorship is £100.

To register, visit http://tinyurl.com/

kisharonmoonlightwalk

… and helps with the dolls at bathtime during his visit to Kisharon

Photos: John rifkin

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6 Kisharon Head office: 54 Parson Street, London, NW4 1TP � T: 020 8203 2233 � Helpline: 0844 496 4636

Dani’s a real card!

Eli Cohen and Chaim Dovid Rotenberg quenchedtheir thirsts in the hot weather this week withpersonalised bottles of Coca-Cola. Eli is a massivefan of regular Coke, while Chaim Dovid likescaffeine-free Diet Coke (with the gold top).Supported Living Manager Robert Speker said:“When I saw that personalised bottles would beavailable for a very limited period, I knew thatthese two men would love a bottle with theirnames on.”

New date for shiurThe next Kisharon men-only shiur at The Drive,Golders Green, scheduled for Tuesday, 23 July,will now take place on Tuesday, 27 August.

The speaker will be Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet, ofMill Hill shul. It will start at 8.00pm.

When Dani Sandford found shehad time on her hands, her dadHenry pointed out a volunteeringopportunity with Kisharon.

Now the mum of three collectsKisharon greetings cards from thePrint Shop and restocks the racks atJewish Care, Kosher Kingdom andthe Jewish Learning Exchange inGolders Green.

“I do this once a week or once afortnight, depending on cardsales,” said Dani, mum to Ben, 18,Jake, 16 and 13-year-old Amber.

The job takes just half a day, butDani, once a graphic designer withReader’s Digest, is a keen amateurphotographer who will be helpingKisharon with photography too.

“I had no contact with Kisharon in

the past, but what I have seen so farhas shown what a fantastic charity itis,” she said.

� Kisharon Day School is a‘magical place’, says ClaudiaNamdar, a US student whovolunteered at the school for fourweeks.

Claudia said: “My biggestinspiration has been the beautifulstudents. From the kind way thatthey treat one another to theirstrength and positivity whendealing with their challenges, theyhave changed me forever. May theycontinue to be blessed with a lovingand encouraging environment thatwill help them reach their fullestpotential.”

Moishe Goldblatt in hisown words:

“I’ve been in Kisharon for a verylong time. Firstly in the Day School,then Kisharon College and then Istarted working. I get my jobsthrough Rabbi Shlomo Weltman, whoshows me what to do and now I cando it on my own. I am independent.

“On Monday, I work at JFS. OnTuesdays, I volunteer at CommunityFocus (a Barnet arts centre) and thenon Wednesdays, I work at the foodcharity Gift, where I put food intobags for people and put stickers on.

“I am starting a brand new job thisThursday in the Kisharon fundraisingdepartment, with good staff andgood friends. I’m keen to do officework like banking, stuffing andposting envelopes, answering phonecalls and stuff like that. I’m lookingforward to starting.”

it’s the real thing!

In thespotlight

Danisandford:‘What i haveseen hasshown whata fantasticcharityKisharon is’