JLGB wins prestigious Mitzvah Day 'Biggest Impact Award' 2016

Over 600 handmade cards have been created by young members from local JLGB groups from up and down the UK to welcome refugees to Britain, winning the organisation the accolade of Biggest Impact Award 2016 in this year’s Mitzvah Day Awards.

Hundreds of Jewish young people from JLGB groups in Glasgow, Cardiff, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, and all across London made over 600 handmade welcome cards for unaccompanied refugee children as part of a national JLGB innovative programme specially designed for Mitzvah Day. These cards form the finishing touch to themuch needed welcome packs to help refugee children coming into the UK and will be distributed by The Separated Child Foundation.

Laura Marks OBE, Founder of Mitzvah Day said "Mitzvah Day is about bringing people together and helping others, which is exactly what we saw JLGB members doing all over the country. The refugee crisis resonates with our Jewish community, and especially JLGB which was founded by Jewish refugees, so to see 500 young Jews making welcome cards for today's refugees was very special. So special in fact, that JLGB's project won the Mitzvah Day Biggest Impact Award - a richly deserved honour."

Joshua Diamond, JLGB's Programme Coordinator said "This project is especially poignant for our members because JLGB was created over 120 years ago to support young immigrant Jewish refugees to the UK".  JLGB has always been about removing barriers, originally helping Jewish refugees by teaching English and skills as well as providing food and clothing - now it's our duty and responsibility to do the same and help others."

Gia Nathan, JLGBs Director of Strategic Partnerships said: “Social action is at the heart of JLGB, where youngsters get involved in volunteering all year round. But Mitzvah Day provides a focal point for the year when thousands of young people make a collective impact, by doing good deeds to help others whilst developing their own skills, gaining experience and growing in character.”

Neil Martin OBE, JLGB Chief Executive said: "This is true National impact through local action only made possible by our passionate volunteer leaders and amazing young members at our local groups across the UK. To us, this award is recognition of the time, passion and hard work that our leaders put in on a weekly basis throughout the year to provide positive activities for Jewish Youth to empower them, give back and have a major impact in our Jewish community and across wider society."

It's been a mammoth week for JLGB, starting with the huge mitzvah that is AJEX Parade and then a whole week to celebrate both Mitzvah Day and #iwill week, where JLGB launched the Yoni Jesner Award, ran assemblies promoting Kosher DofE, and organised charity fairs to 6th Formers taking part in the vInspired award, all through evolve.

Thanks to funding from Wohl Legacy, evolve is JLGB's digital volunteering initiative that provides an overarching platform for young people across the community to take part in social action through national award schemes and accreditation. Through evolve JLGB will engage over 8,000 Jewish young people in social action this year.

Carry on your mitzvahs beyond the day and sign up for your next youth volunteering award at www.jlgb.org/evolve.

The Jesner Twins: Yoni Jesner Volunteering Awards Inspires The Next Generation

Leora and Chloe Jesner, the twin nieces of the late Yoni Jesner, mark the beginning of their volunteering journey by starting the Yoni Jesner Volunteering Awards, adding to tens of thousands of hours of good deeds already completed in the name of their uncle. This is especially poignant as Leora and Chloe, aged 12 from Yavneh College are the first immediate family members of Yoni to take part in the award in honour of his memory.

Enrolment for the Yoni Jesner Awards has now launched for this academic year, following inspiring assemblies from Yoni’s mother, Marsha Gladstone at schools all over the country. Yoni Jesner was killed in a suicide bombing on a bus in Israel in 2002. Yoni was an inspirational youth leader and true role-model for many young people, and his drive and determination led him to achieve more in his 19 years than many people do in a lifetime.

This is set to be a record-breaking year for the Yoni Jesner Awards, with over 500 young people already signed up since September. The scheme is managed by evolve, JLGB’s youth volunteering initiative, in partnership with the Yoni Jesner Foundation. Young people in school years 7 and 8 can take part in the award by volunteering as little as 20 hours, making a difference to the community throughout the year.

Thanks to evolve, young people can now sign up directly through their chosen synagogue, youth group or charity. To register for the award, discover youth friendly volunteering projects, track hours and keep on target visit www.jlgb.org/yonijesner

Leora Jesner said,

“Last year we went to the ceremony and all we wanted to do was go up on stage and receive the award”

Chloe Jesner said,

“We are happy hearing the special things that the awards have achieved in our uncle’s name”

Marsha Gladstone, Yoni’s mother, grandmother of the Jesner Twins said,

“Yoni was a mixture of so many different things. On the one hand he was fun and zingy, had loads of different friends of all ages, backgrounds and religions and really loved people. Yet underneath all that there was a modest, more serious layer, helping others and volunteering in so many different ways.”

Neil Martin OBE, JLGB Chief Executive said,

“All of us at JLGB are so proud to power the Yoni Jesner Awards through the evolve volunteering and skills initiative. Working together with the Yoni Jesner Foundation we are excited for all the upgrades we have made as we further digitise the award with even more features. Now, for the first time, young people can sign up, not just through their school, but alternatively through the charity they are volunteering at or the youth group or synagogue they belong to, each of whom will be able to view the collective impact their young people have made.”