The night was the Manchester Jewish Community Awards 2019, an evening of celebration of those that had given something back to their local community. Owing to our action and history within Manchester’s Jewish community, Outreach staff and volunteers were in attendance, amongst nearly 400 guests.
The panel expressed their amazement at the “high calibre” of nominations, saying choosing the winners was down to very fine judging. Those nominated had given their time, effort and passion into their service for the Jewish and wider community, and the winners of the 10 award categories had made a “phenomenal contribution”, way above what was expected.
Zena, an Outreach volunteer, was a winner of the ‘Special Recognition’ Award! The judges spoke of her warmth and care working with Outreach service users in our community she really encompasses our idea of “being the difference that makes the difference”. We would like to congratulate Zena on her award, it is truly well deserved. One of our service users, Victoria, received a Highly Commended award, also in the ‘Special Recognition’ category! This owes to her incredibly hard work volunteering at her local charity shop- another truly well deserved award, congratulations to Victoria!
The key message of this inspiring evening is certainly food for thought for us all.
Volunteering is such a wonderful thing to do, a selfless act to give back to those around us, using our skills and attributes for the greater good. Giving our time to help others, no matter the quantity of time we can give. As one award winner said, everyone can spare at least 30 minutes each week for helping others. A big thank you to all of our amazing volunteers, and congratulations to our deserving winners at the Manchester Jewish Community Awards! You really are the difference that makes the difference.