How can we help?
| We are partnering with the Haringey branch of the charity CARIS. CARIS exists to help homeless families respond to their everyday living challenges. Many are in temporary accommodation and are lone parents living in insecure circumstances with their children. The resources and volunteers of the charity are limited and their services are vital. We have committed to work with them during this time putting together bags of shopping for as many of the families as we can on a weekly basis. We did our first delivery to CARIS, of around 40 bags of food, last Tuesday. They were thrilled, saying “CARIS Haringey were very grateful to receive the kind donation of food from Muswell Hill Synagogue. We were able to feed 32 families yesterday. These families are particularly vulnerable as they have NO recourse to public funds. This means that they have no access to benefits, they are often homeless or living in terrible conditions. Without the support of organisations like yours we would not be able to fulfil our role and these families would be left destitute. `Thank you so much for your support during these difficult times.” |
| Find our more about Caris here |
| How can you help: Make up a bag giving one family a week of food. We would like to deliver bags of food to Caris each Tuesday when their families then come and collect them. Each bag should contain some of the following (Don’t worry if you can’t get them all): Rice, Pasta, Bread, Fresh fruit and vegetables – these are particularly appreciated, Tinned veg especially tomatoes, Oil, Long life milk, Cereal, Snacks/biscuits, Toiletries and Nappies. We will be making deliveries every Tuesday so please drop your bag/s off at Karen Ackerman’s home (25 Grove Avenue N10 2AS) on Monday afternoons or at Karen Mattison’s home (2 Church Vale N2 9PA) on Tuesday mornings before 10.30am. |
| Get in touch with Karen here |
| Future ways to help We will also be asking for donations to the Shul so we can buy supplies for CARIS. Email the shul office to ask how to donate. Can you drive to make doorstep deliveries? We will be asking for volunteers to cook a hot meal for Caris families. Let us know if you’d be interested in this or driving by emailing Karen Ackerman |
| Other projects to get involved in: Our local Muswell Hill Foodbank is desperate for donations of money to enable them to stock up. Please donate here Age UK Barnet is very keen for more offers of befriending to older residents. This could involve shopping, calling or picking up medicine. Find out more here Scrubs Appeal – Your surplus sheets or pillow cases are needed. Caroline Margolis is part of a group who are using these to make scrubs and laundry bags for NHS and care staff. There is apparently a shortage of these items and her group are supplying (inter alia) the Whittington and North Middlesex Hospitals as well as the London Ambulance Service. Any colour or pattern will do – the more unusual and cheerful the better – and they should be cotton/cotton mix. If you have anything to donate please email Caroline () to let her know and either she or Andrew will cycle round to your house at a pre-arranged time to pick up what you have to spare. If you have a sewing machine and are able to do some sewing, Caroline can tell you more. FEAST! (Feast With Us) is a charity providing access to regular meals for people suffering food poverty. Not only are the meals delicious and nutritious, they are made from ‘waste’ foods that would otherwise be thrown away from supermarkets and restaurants. Since June 2015, FEAST WITH US has been collecting surplus food from North London retailers, taking it to community kitchens, and cooking 3-course meals for vulnerable adults. On a weekly basis, volunteers are able to socialise and prepare meals with vulnerable adults from all walks of life. The intimate setting of a communal kitchen creates a family atmosphere and togetherness that is hard to replicate in other services offering meal provision. Volunteers and service-users are encouraged to befriend one another, share the space as equals, and dine together, as equals. Royal Free London Heroes – Staff at our hospitals – Barnet, Chase Farm and the Royal Free – are facing the biggest challenge of their lives. Many of them will be caring for patients with Coronavirus (COVID-19). Others will need to look after patients who don’t have the virus but still desperately need their help. This huge challenge is set to become even greater over the coming weeks and months, as the number requiring urgent care continues to rise. Read more about this excllent cause and how you can donate by clicking here. |