Young Jewish activists help London’s homeless with winter survival packs
30 volunteers from Aish UK spent their Sunday easing the plight of rough sleepers in the capital, handing out packs including sleeping bags, thermals, coats, first aid and food
Dozens of young volunteers from a Jewish informal education network spent Sunday helping homeless people and their pets in central London.
With winter approaching, 30 young professionals from Aish UK prepped survival packs including a sleeping bag, thermal clothing, coats, first aid kits, hygiene essentials and food from items donated from Borehamwood-based Goods for Good.
Once the survival packs were complete, the Help the Homeless campaign group split into four teams, each covering an area of central London – Piccadilly, Holborn, Kings Cross and Liverpool Street. Within two hours, all packs had been distributed.
During the course of the exercise, the volunteers heard the personal life stories of how people had ended up on the streets. One team even met a Jewish man who had been homeless for six months, who was delighted to receive some kosher food.
“It was a very humbling experience,” said Adam Abraham, one of the volunteers. “We all take for granted the things we have in life that everyone deserves, such as a warm bed at night, food, friends, family.
“The people I saw were so grateful when in fact all I was giving out was a bit of food, a jacket and other basic essentials. I’m really happy I decided to participate.”
Rabbi Eli Birnbaum of Aish London said: “One of our core values as an Orthodox Jewish organisation is to look out for the wellbeing of the wider community and encourage our own to step out of their comfort zone to help those who quite literally have no-one to turn to.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
