JVN Blog

The passing of Baroness Thatcher last week marked, for many, the end of an era, but her legacy of ‘Thatcherism’ will live on in the actions of governments and the minds of the British public for decades, possibly centuries, to come. Love her or hate her, one cannot deny that she was the woman Prime […]

It’s that time again… All volunteers to the decks; well in most cases to the floors. Pesach is here… a wonderful mix of hard work, celebration and family networking!! This year together with my close family, I will decamp to Israel. Everything will be done on a plate this year, or is that Seder plate? […]

Leonie, JVN Director, has been a very busy bee this week! Aside from her regular jam-packed schedule of meetings, fundraising and replying to countless e-mails – not to mention the vast amounts of volunteering she does on the side – Leonie managed this week to squeeze in a trip to Birmingham. Dwarfed in comparison by […]

On 21st November, some of the female members of JVN’s staff team went to TrainE-TraidE‘s Women in the Workplace Conference in Finchley. The conference was extremely well-attended and twelve speakers, experts in their fields, led workshops on a large variety of topics, including JVN Director Leonie’s workshop entitled “Volunteering – your way back into work.” […]

We believe we know and understand the notion of reciprocity: “the state of mutual dependence or influence.” However, it’s a notion that is often harder to practice. The Hebrew word Natan, which means gift, is a palindrome, spelt the same backwards and forwards. This is because giving is not just something that can positively affect […]

We all hear about London being a hugely diverse city, with over 7 million people of all different nationalities, religions and cultures living together. With the London 2012 Games now in full swing, this number has been increased hugely with athletes, coaches, officials and spectators flooding in from all corners of the globe to be […]

The big news of the week is that the nation’s leading volunteering development body,Volunteering England (VE), is to merge with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). As the Jewish Faith Partner of Volunteering England, it is a merger that we too have a vested interest in, having worked closely and enjoyed a fruitful relationship with the organisation […]

Tell us about The Judith Trust? The Judith Trust was set up to help integrate people with learning disabilities and mental health problems in both religious and spiritual aspects of the Jewish community. It was set up in 1997 in the name of Judith, a woman with both these problems and whose family run the […]

Volunteering, schmolunteering – does the word volunteering actually matter? Leonie weighs in to a spirited debate!

Why having the freedom to volunteer is so very precious – JVN’s Pesach Spring Newsletter 2012