Holocaust Survivors’ Centre hailed a ‘lifesaver’ at annual dinner

Hannah Lewis, member of the Holocaust Survivors- Centre gives vote of thanks

Hannah Lewis, a member of the Holocaust Survivors Centre, gives her thanks (Photo: Grainge Photography)

The two discussed the origins of Ivor’s memoir, Chicken Soup Under the Tree: A Journey to Hell and Back, and the importance of the centre.

Ivor, a regular attendee, said Holocaust survivors needed the centre “more than ever before”.

“The centre is even more important to me and fellow survivors as we get older,” he said, saying it provided a “life-saving weekly gathering”.

He added: “[It] offers us so much care and support, a place to be together, and what we really need right now, which is an abundance of love that we receive from the staff and volunteers there, who I can only describe as angels.”

The Holocaust Survivors’ Centre is part of Jewish Care’s Michael Sobell Jewish Community Centre.

Established over four decades ago, it receives no government funding, and costs more than £375,000 a year to run.

The meeting place offers its members, who number over 300, a chance to socialise and engage in a variety of activities, as well as providing them with a social and therapeutic outreach programme.

Rachel Riley MBE at Jewish Care-s Holocaust Survivors Centre Fundraising Dinner Committee

Rachel Riley at the event (Photo: Grainge Photography)

Activities include a ladies’ shiur (Jewish learning session), Yiddish singing, theatre trips and Jewish festival celebrations. The centre also offers specialist counselling and social work support from its Shalvata service for members dealing with trauma.

Jewish Care’s director of fundraising and community engagement, Adam Overlander-Kaye, said the funds raised on the evening would “go a long way to helping us to continue to run the centre, which is a lifeline […] to the survivors, refugees and their spouses”.