Social Action

Our Social Action Programme was established in 2003 and is our way of practising the ethics and teachings of Judaism within the wider community, both Jewish and non Jewish.

We have a number of on going projects and the descriptions below will give you an idea of what Social Action means to Wimbledon and District Synagogue.

The Manna Project

It is the tradition within the Synagogue for members to host a Kiddush to mark special event- Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, birthdays, anniversaries etc. We ask the hosts to donate 10% (or more) of the cost of the kiddush to our Manna Fund, which we donate to World Jewish Aid. They pass our donations to hunger relief projects in less fortunate parts of the world. Thus, we not only eat, drink and enjoy ourselves, but also use the occasion to help others have enough food for themselves. We are very pleased that World Jewish Aid are actively encouraging all other Jewish communities to follow our lead.

Merton Asylum Welcome

Merton Asylum Welcome is a Drop In Centre in Wimbledon which offers a hot meal , friendship , practical advice and support to refugees, asylum seekers and people finding their way once they have been permission to stay. This project brings together local faith groups and statutory agencies. We are represented on the Trustees, our members work as volunteer helpers, and we raise funds for the Centre. We have a collection box in the Synagogue foyer and make weekly donations of toiletries and clothing to the Centre.

Faith In Action- Merton Homelessness Project

This project was established by local faith groups and we are fully involved and serve on the management committee. The project employs a coordinator and in September 2004 opened a half -day a week drop-in centre, with a hot meal, clothing, friendship and advice for all its clients. We have raised significant sums of money for the centre, and our members work there as volunteers.

Wandsworth Primary Care Trust Team for the Homeless and Asylum Seekers

We actively support this team of professional health workers. We helped them establish a drop -in group for women and provide volunteers to teach English. We are on call to respond to specific requests from them, including requests for clothing for people who arrive in this country and need local clothing- for example, winter clothing for people arriving in summer clothes. We have a list of our members who respond when the call goes out - “ clothes needed ASAP for a 17 year old boy, 5 foot 9 inches tall, slender build”.

Brixton Refugee Centre

We make regular special collections of clothing for this local centre, approximately 3 times a year.

Gifts In Kind

Our most recent project- “Gifts in Kind” has been organised through World Jewish Relief.

They are very active in Belarus where there has been little political change since the break-up of the former Soviet Unnion.The Jewish community is particularly poor and is struggling in the difficult overall economic climate. 

We were asked to help provide supplies for the children returning to school in the autumn, by collecting new schoolbags each filled with pens, paper, geometry sets etc, as well as a winter hat, gloves and scarf. We appealed to our cheder children who responded with great enthusiasm as they were able to put themselves in the place of the Belarus children and realise what it would be like to be without so much as a hat in a freezing winter.

We had a tremendous response and were able to contribute over 50 well equipped bags, as well as a number of warm winter coats. We know from WJR volunteers who visit Belarus that these gifts are vital for the Jewish community there and are met with joy and appreciation, as they have no means of providing their children with any of these items.

Wimbledon made a further contribution to this project by donating the tsedakah funds raised by the cheder last term to help pay for the transport needed for this project.

We will be keeping in touch with WJR and their work in Belarus and hope to make further collections for them in the future. Meanwhile, thanks to everyone for their help so far.

Gifts In Kind For Other Projects

We make regular clothing collections for the Faith In Action Homeless Centre and the Merton Asylum Welcome. During the winter, donations of warm clothing, including coats and jumpers, are particularly welcome as the clients are either outside a lot ( not through choice) or, in the case of asylum seekers, may have arrived from a part of the world which does not experience cold winters and have little suitable clothing of their own.

Please leave any donations in the box in the synagogue foyer.

Knowledge Forums

Learning about the needs of others is the best way of developing our understanding and finding ways of helping. We hold regular meetings with speakers to learn about social issues and our Rabbis always contribute so that the problems and ideas can be understood in the context of Jewish teachings.

Nightingale House

In response to a request from the Chief Executive we have a small rota of people who go along to Nightingale House on Friday afternoons to light the candles and make kiddush with the residents in the nursing units who are too frail to make kiddush themselves. It is a mitzvah to do this but also a great pleasure as the staff and residents are so welcoming and pleased to see us.If anyone feels able to join our team and help ,however regularly or irregularly, please get in touch with Stephanie Brada. We can them arrange for you to come along and see what we do , so that you can decide whether it is something you feel able to help with.


What Next?

This is a developing programme. If you have an idea which you would like us to explore please let us know- nothing is set in tablets of stone.

If you would like to learn more or help in any way, for example, by becoming a volunteer at one of the projects, delivering sacks of goods and clothing to one of the centres, or in any other way please contact us:

You can call Stephanie Brada on 020 8879 7439 or email her by clicking here. 

Or Lesley Nathan on 020 8540 1186 or by email by clicking here.