JVN Blog

Well, it’s that time of year again – light your Chanukiahs, spin your dreidels and eat all the latkes in the land – Chanukah is upon us! Every child loves Chanukah, and everyone’s inner child can have just as much fun. It is also an important time for gathering together with friends and family to light candles, eat more latkes (because you can never have enough) and sing songs.

Chanukah also offers us an opportunity. Falling as it does in the winter season, many people are in more desperate need of help than they might be at other times of the year. And at JVN we always say that, even if you cannot afford to help people financially, everyone can give the gift of time. This is an opportunity to offer some much-needed assistance and make a real difference.

There are many opportunities to volunteer at this time of year. One example is World Jewish Relief’s Operation Winter Survival campaign, which helps people in the former Soviet Union survive the winter, when temperatures can plummet to as low as -35°C. You can click here to find out how WJR could use your help. Or, if you would prefer to help people a little closer to home, Tikun is once again running its Light Up a Life campaign from 23rd December to 1st January, bringing a little festive cheer to those in need. You can click here to see the vast array of volunteering opportunities Tikun can offer to people of all ages.

These are just a couple of the options available to you – why not e-mail Lia at lia@jvn.org.uk for a full range of volunteering opportunities available in the upcoming weeks. And of course, the JVN website lists hundreds of opportunities all year round. Whether you see Chanukah as a time for giving, or whether you see the new year as a time to turn over a new leaf, you should always be able to find a reason for and have the ability to give some of your time to help others.

This year, let’s light at least one candle in celebration of our volunteers:  how we come together to support and care for each other in times of need and crisis.  It is a light that has sustained us throughout generations, a flame that we, as people who care for our communities, help to keep burning. If we all give some of our time, we will be well on our way to ensuring that everyone in the Jewish and the wider community worldwide has somewhere to turn if they need that little bit of extra support, for whatever reason.

Wishing you a Chanukah Sameach – Happy Chanukah – from all at JVN.