JVN Blog

Volunteers sustain communities, and more than that they allow them to thrive.  It is something I have always believed and it is something that is more evident than ever as the current lockdown situation has magnified the number of volunteers reaching out to offer support to family, friends, neighbours and complete strangers in ways that […]

In this edition of our blog, Caroline Cosgrove  writes about the volunteering she and her son James did for his Bar Mitzvah. Here is her story… In the lead up to the Bar Mitzvah of my son, James, in August 2016, he was considering what he could do to mark the occasion in a meaningful way – one […]

Take a look at the ultimate volunteering role – The job is 24/7. There’s a zero hours contract with no guaranteed time off or holidays. There’s no sick pay and you must keep going even when you are literally dead on your feet. You must be able to multi task and give 100% energy, effort […]

The start of the centenary of World War One is upon us, a conflict that changed the world forever. The sacrifices made and service given across society will be reflected upon by people in the UK and far beyond. The impact of 1914-1918 is still evident today; war memorials stand guard in towns and villages […]

So, it’s small charity week and we decided to lend our support to the countless small charities out there by examining how difficult it is for them to make the impact and difference they want. There are 180,000 registered charities in England and Wales, all of which are recorded on the online register of charities. […]

Well after 22 years as wife of the Chief Rabbi, we are at the next stage of our lives, gazing out of a New York apartment at the thick snow and bright sunshine. The sun does shine here most of the time, but it certainly gets cold! Over the years I had the real privilege […]

  Here’s an uncontroversial statement: educating young people is extremely important. Academic success is at the forefront of government policy and many parents’ minds, and this has been the case as far as we can remember. But academia, nowadays, has an educational rival. Citizenship and so-called informal education has an established place on the National […]

The festival of Sukkot is full of symbols. We build a sukka (temporary structure) to represent the tents of the Israelites when they resided in the desert before entering Israel, as well as to demonstrate our faith in G-d’s protection, as the structure is exposed to external elements. We wave the Arba Minim (4 Species) […]

For most young people, whether applying for university, internships, or jobs, there is constant pressure to have the best CV/UCAS form possible. Most understand that with the extreme competitiveness for places it is essential that you make yourself stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately this has created a compulsory mentality towards volunteering as merely doing […]

Our new Social Media Consultant and former intern, Elliot Cukier, was recently afforded the lucky opportunity to go to Israel with the Genesis Challenge programme. Here he tells us all about the amazing time he and the rest of his group had, and the lessons they learnt about volunteering and giving back along the way… […]