Awards Honour Best of the Best at Jewish Care
Two upstanding community members have been honoured at Melbourne’s Jewish Care’s 2014 Staff and Volunteer Service and Excellence Awards.
Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Anne Korman for her extraordinary commitment to Jewish Care for over 12 years.
At 81 years young, Anne is a true inspiration. Over the years, she has been involved in a variety of volunteering activities – from friendly visiting to packing gifts for the needy, facilitating computer classes for seniors and providing transport, fundraising, administration and events support. In addition, Anne volunteers for the Jewish Museum of Australia and Mount Scopus’ opportunity shop.
Volunteer Robyn Boyar was presented with The Samuel H. Harris Award for excellence above and beyond expectation. Robyn has been volunteering at The Manders Villas since it opened four years ago. Her successful initiative, the ‘$1 Dinner’, has developed residents’ cooking skills whilst encouraging them to work as a group and empowering them to develop independent living and social skills. Bill Appleby, CEO Jewish Care, said while Jewish Care was undertaking the most ambitious and exciting series of state-of-the-art developments in its history, it was volunteers and staff who would ultimately transform the way Jewish Care cared for elders and the community. “As magnificent as these buildings will be, we all know it is not about the bricks and mortar. It is about the people who volunteer and work within these walls. Because, at the end of the day, Jewish Care is about our people,” he said.
Keynote speaker for the evening was Jeffrey Appel who inspired the audience with his personal stories about his involvement in community life, his time as President of Jewish Community Services, as well as his passionate views on volunteering and the importance of giving back.