v One of the many joys of being editor of the JC is hearing the stories of unsung heroes in our community. Every edition has them — someone going above and beyond to help others.
Since the first lockdown — a year ago this week — we have been inundated with such stories. Across our community, in every age group, every area and every denomination, people have been putting the needs of others first, often with little recognition. It has been altruism in its truest form.
That’s why we decided to run our awards for the JC’s Covid Heroes. Just because someone isn’t after recognition doesn’t mean the rest of us shouldn’t be aware of and celebrate what they have done.
When we asked for nominations, I had no idea what to expect. They flooded in — well over 200. Honestly, we could have taken any of them at random to make up our shortlist and they would all have been worthy winners. But somehow we had to reduce the number to something manageable, so readers would be able to vote.
The shortlist we came up with was designed to reflect all aspects of the heroism that people have shown, from those in communal leadership roles to doctors and individuals who simply decided to help people.
And it is clear from the number of you who voted that the list, and the awards, stuck a chord. Well over 2,000 people voted by the time we closed the poll last weekend.
Our original intention was to have a winner, a runner up and a third place. But as the votes poured in — everyone on the shortlist received many votes — it dawned on us that this would be against the spirit of the awards. The point of them was to celebrate our community’s remarkable spirit of generosity. Everyone nominated was really a winner. And so, rather than ranking the votes, we decided that those who received the highest number of votes would all be winners.
And what winners they are!
Alby Chait, senior minister at the UHC in Leeds, was described by one nomination as “the most positive and remarkable man I have met in my life. He has almost single handedly kept our community going.”
Dr Leora Harverd, who has been a pioneer in how she has transformed her practice into a Centre of Vaccinating Excellence, was called “an angel” by one of her nominators.
And Simon and Joanne Lappin, who were nominated by their son (I have confess to welling up as I read it) were referred to as “the embodiment of Jewish values” by one voter.
This has been an unspeakably appalling year. But it is wonderful to be able to make something uplifting from it. Mazeltov to all our nominees — and especially our winners.