Kol Nidre Charities 5783/2022
Here are the charities we’ve selected this year, all of which have been personally recommended by our members or friends.
Jewish Care Scotland
JCS began in 1858 with a group of volunteers and is now a professional charity. It’s the only exclusively Jewish care charity in Scotland and aims to provide culturally sensitive services, including raising awareness and working in a practical way with organisations that may have Jewish clients As well as a Day Care centre it provides a range of services for the Jewish community, including a kosher foodbank. It works in partnership with East Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership as well as other community organisations to provide services. Sukkat Shalom member Nick Silk recommended it particularly in recognition of the consistent efforts that JCS has made over the last year to connect and work across the board with Jews and Jewish organisations in and around Edinburgh.
Empty Kitchens Full Hearts
This is a young charity, started during the pandemic in Edinburgh by furloughed chefs, that has provided over a million free meals since April 2020. It was recommended by two Sukkat Shalom members, Ellen Galford and Gila Holliman, who have seen it gain a very good reputation locally. The organisation says:
We turn surplus food into nourishing meals for people that need them, free of charge and without judgement. By making our service available to all, without the need to prove need, we reach some of the most marginalised people across Edinburgh. We believe nourishing food is a basic human right and there should be no barriers to accessing it. Our core service is the delivery of a 'Day Pack', which comprises a day’s worth of nourishing meals. Community volunteers then package these meals ready for delivery across Edinburgh.
Our ultimate goal is for organisations like ours no longer to be needed because safe access to food has been thoroughly addressed by local and national government. Empty Kitchens Full Hearts does not intend to simply become part of the 'poverty industry' but rather strives for a long-term solution to these challenges.
Lemon Tree Trust
Since 2015, the Lemon Tree Trust has supported refugees and communities of forced migrants, to create home and community gardens, garden competitions and education projects. Working with like-minded organisations and partners, they seek to empower people from the ground up to improve their wellbeing and their environment, with a particular focus on women coming together as a community to effect change.
During lockdown, when seeds were scarce, the Trust’s appeal for seeds was responded to by the City of Edinburgh-wide allotment association, through Sukkat Shalom member Lindsay Levy who recommended this charity, saying:
The Lemon Tree Trust helps people in refugees camps to grow vegetables. This is gives them fresh food but also – as I know only too well – is really therapeutic… I feel passionate about them because I can’t imagine how important it must be to establish a green space in the hellhole of a refugee camp. When I saw your appeal for charities I thought in so many respects it would be ideal for a tzedakah.
The Parents Circle Families Forum
The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF), founded in 1995 is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization of over 600 families, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to the ongoing conflict. The PCFF believes that the process of reconciliation between nations is a prerequisite to achieving a sustainable peace and it spreads these ideas through education, public meetings and the media. The PCFF is managed by a joint Israeli-Palestinian board and has a joint Israeli-Palestinian staff team. In collaboration with the Combatants for Peace movement it has established a joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Event on the eve of Memorial Day attracting many participants seeking mutual consolation and hope. The PCCF is supported by the UK Friends of the Bereaved Families Forum.
Sukkat Shalom member Sue Bard recommended PCFF having heard Co-Directors, Palestinian Bassam Aramin and Israeli Rami Elchanan speak about their work following the tragic killing of each of their daughters by the other side.
